


Serendipity

by ayuweasley



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Love, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Romance, Unrequited Love, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:28:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28229151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayuweasley/pseuds/ayuweasley
Summary: In which Cassiopeia Reynard saves George Weasley from detention. After that, a whole lot of trouble ensues.Sometimes you find a really good thing without trying to look for it.
Relationships: Angelina Johnson/Fred Weasley, Draco Malfoy/Other(s), George Weasley/Original Character(s), George Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Implied Fred Weasley/Lee Jordan, Luna Lovegood/Other(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	1. Mischief Managed

The smell of old books and wood hung in the air. Students paced back and forth loudly earning scolds from Madame Pince. Usually, the library was quieter, but a few moments before there had been a big commotion outside and a big chunk of the students were whispering about it. The Slytherin girl sitting by herself in a corner payed no attention to this as she wrote down on her parchment, furrowing her eyebrows in deep thought. It had become a routine to hang out by herself in the library. She had taken that day to study, working on her Potions essay that was due in a few days. This task was becoming rather difficult, due to the agitation around her. At that point it was becoming impossible to ignore it. She heard steps getting closer to her but still didn't lift her eyes from the parchment. The chair in front of her creaked and a person sat down with her. She could hear the newcomer’s breathing rather accelerated. The sound that followed the newcomer’s arrival was quite familiar to her. It was Professor McGonagall, yelling at the students to move. This time Madame Pince stayed quiet. 

"Weasley!" The older woman called out and the boy that had occupied her table hid his face in a book. Despite his best efforts, he was still spotted. "Did you do it?" She demanded an answer. It was then that the girl lifted her eyes to look at him. His hair was fiery red and smooth, a bit too long for her taste. His features were sharp, with freckles splattered across his face. He looked scared but at the same time a bit amused. 

"I didn't do anything, professor!" He said trying to sound innocent. A ghost of a smirk crept upon the girl's lips. _Liar_. "I have been here with her the whole time!" Her eyes widen a bit at his statement, not expecting to be involved on the discussion. McGonagall stared at her curiously. Never in all her years of teaching had she seen a Gryffindor and a Slytherin sitting together quietly. Specially if said Gryffindor was a Weasley.

"Well? Is this true, Miss Reynard?" She questioned, analysing the girl's reaction. The ginger boy looked at her in a pleading manner. 

"Oh, he's been here alright." She replied with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "It has been quite an annoying afternoon for me. He just won't leave me alone." She complained, rolling her eyes. McGonagall seemed satisfied with the response. The old witch gathered herself and prepared to leave. Before she did just that, she turned to Weasley again. 

"I'll be watching you." She said pointing a finger at him. 

"Oh professor, such a flirt." He joked with a wide grin adorning his features. The old woman turned his back to him, a bit shocked by his words and not wanting to continue the conversation further. "Thanks for covering for me, love. I don't think I caught your name."

"That's because I never told you my name" She smirked as she gathered her belongings. "If I were you, I would try to stay out of trouble, George. I would rather not lie to McGonagall again." She got up and he did the same. 

"Wait. How do you know which twin I am?" He said eyeing her curiously. Her smirked faltered for a bit. _We have been in the same classes for the past five years, how could I not know?_ She thought to herself.

"Just a hunch." She shrugged her shoulders and left the library by herself.

She shouldn't expect other people to notice her when she tried to keep out of the spotlight. An unusual characteristic for a Slytherin but she was confident in her house placement, despite what anyone said. She was still terribly ambitious, however she preferred to be quiet about it. She dreamed of teaching at Hogwarts one day. She tried to work as hard as she could in school to get to that place. That's why she consired that she was placed in the right house. 

She rushed to the great hall and searched for her only friend in the crowd. Her friend was sitting at the Hufflepuff table talking to a few people that she knew there. She smiled to herself and was quick to join her. The blond girl smiled brightly as she saw her walking towards her seat. "Cassi, where have you been?" She questioned. 

"I was at the library. I had the strangest thing happen to me just now." Cassi said, remembering her encounter with George Weasley. Her friend squealed, wanting to know everything about it. Her name was Marley Peterson and she had also been sorted in Slytherin. She was short, with curly hair cascading down her back, usually she presented a smile on her face and was always impeccably dressed. Even if she was just wearing her uniform, she could always find new ways to style it in a way that was fashionable. "...and then I left. I was kind of afraid McGonagall would see right through me." She finished her story. 

"I don't even wanna think about what would happen if she did figure out you were lying." She chuckled. "Can you give me your third year notes for Potions? I'm kinda in trouble with Snape." Marley said frustrated. "And I heard you are his favourite."

"I'm certainly not his favourite." Cassi chuckled. "He just doesn't hate me as much as everyone else. I don't think Snape feels anything for anyone besides deep annoyance." The two girls chatted for a bit more until dinner was starting and they had to head back to their house's table.

Despite considering her house was a perfect fit for her, she din't usually get along with some people in it. Some Slytherin's weren't very fond of her, due to her being a so called blood traitor. Others would simply ignore her presence, not really having anything against her. She sat with Marley but the two ended up seperating because Cassi was in a rush to get to the dungeons to gather her things. She didn't usually sleep in her dorm, rather stayed with Madame Pomfrey in the hospital wing. Cassi was glad that it was so, as she shared a dorm with some girls that she wasn't very fond of. Grabbing her stuff, she headed out to meet with the older woman. 

"Good evening, Madame Pomfrey." She greeted with a small smile, setting her things onto an empty bed. 

"Back again, are you?" The woman turned to her. "Is it the girls again or the nightmares?" She questioned her with a worried face. Cassi rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. 

"Both." Madame Pomfrey gestured for her to sit down next to her on a chair. "I'm very tired and they don't make it easy for me to be at peace in my own dorm." She complained. "It would be easier if I shared a dorm with Marley, but Snape won't allow me to trade with someone else." 

"No matter. We will figure out a way to stop those dreams." She turned and grabbed a clear bottle filled with a blue liquid. "Until we figure out a way to make them stop, I want you to drink this when you feel yourself getting anxious. It will help you rest." The grey-haired woman told her as she poured the liquid onto a cup. Cassi took a sip and stuck her tongue out in disgust. Pomfrey chuckled. "What were you expecting? Butterbear?" The potion took a very small amount of time to start working. She started to feel very relaxed and drowsy. The brown-haired girl crawled into bed and within minutes she was asleep. 

***

Cassiopeia woke up sweating and panting. Whatever Madame Pomfrey had given her made her rest, but it didn't stop the dreams. It wasn't as bad this time, though. This gave the girl a little bit of hope in regard to getting better. She changed the sheets she had used and made sure everything was tidied up before she left to go take a shower. It was Saturday and so she put on some causal clothes. The girl decided to wear a black blouse, black trousers and combat boots. She slipped a denim jacket over her shoulders and head to the entrance, where a few students had already gathered for their trip to Hogsmeade.

Harry Potter was the only student who ended up staying behind while everyone else was going on the trip. Cassi looked at him before leaving with the other students. He seemed truly upset and she could relate a bit to what he was feeling. She didn't have a family, just like him. The only family members she had was her guardian Donna and an uncle she avoided thinking about. Still, she was a bit luckier than Harry since Donna had actually signed her permission form. 

She walked with Marley for a while until she lost sight of her near Zonko's Joke Shop. The brunette was heading to The Three Bromsticks when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she was met with fiery red hair and a smirk. 

"Cassiopeia Reynard." The ginger stated and she raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "I found out your name." This time he wasn't alone. His twin accompanied him, he had his arms crossed over his chest and seemed a bit more eager to stand out. Now that the both of them were standing next to each other, the little traits that differentiated them seemed to be even more evident. She didn't know much about the twins personally, despite being in most of their classes since their first year. However, she knew Fred was the instigator and George was the more level-headed one.

"Congratulations?" Cassi replied sarcastically. "Don't tell me you need rescuing again." She mocked and the boys chuckled. 

"Not at the moment." Fred replied. "We are here to make a proposition." Cassi looked at them confused. 

"Do you want to form an alliance with us?" George said further explaining what Fred's saying. It seemed to be a common thing for them. Fred got the first word and George explained the details. 

"Uh why?" The shorter girl questioned. 

"You helped George, didn't you?" Fred started. 

"Helping me actually ended up helping Fred as well. McGonagall knows that we cause trouble together, but since you vouched for me she didn't accuse him either." George continued.

"It's only fair if we return the favour." His brother retorted. Cassi considered it for a minute. Befriending the twins (two Gryffindors mind you) would probably worsen her relationship with everyone in her house. On the other hand, she didn't really liked many people from Slytherin and hanging out with the twins sounded much better (despite the risk of getting detention or even being expelled). 

"A favour from the Weasley twins? Sounds tempting." She said putting a finger on her chin as she thought a bit more about it. "But I didn't help you because I wanted something in return." The boys looked at each other. 

"We know." They said in unison. 

"That's exactly why we are offering you this one in a lifetime opportunity." George explained winking at her. 

"I feel like there's something else that you want from me." Cassi said feeling a bit suspicious from that whole situation. They extended their hands at her with grins on their faces. 

"You won't find out if there is unless you take the deal." Fred told her 

"Come and join the big boys." They both said, making Cassi crack a smile. 

"Alright, fine." She shook both their hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I would let y'all know English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance.


	2. Dreams and tattoos

_"You're weak." The man said with disdain. "Just like your mother." He spat and the little girl sobbed as tiny droplets of sweat ran down her face. "Do it again. Properly this time:" The girl yelped as she saw flashes of images of herself and things that she recognized from when she was younger. She cried again and the man stopped."You can't even learn Occlumency. How will I ever teach you Legilimency. These skills have been in the family for centuries!" He cursed under his breath. "I didn't want to have to come to this..." The small child nodded her head vigorously._

_"Uncle, I'm sorry!"_

_"Crucio!"_

***

Cassi woke up panting and sweating again. She looked around the room disoriented, only to find that she was safe in Hogwarts. Her roommates looked at her with disdain as they prepared to leave to head to the great hall to get something to eat. The brunette looked back at them, giving them a "what the fuck are you looking at" type of look before flipping the covers and getting up. Once she had a shower and got dressed, she decided against getting breakfast; instead she walked to Charms. As she suspected she was the first student to arrive in Filtwick's classroom. The brown eyed girl greeted him politely and sat down in the front row, carefully setting her books onto the table as she waited for more people to arrive. 

She lost herself in the charms book she was reading and didn't pay much attention to the people that were starting to arrive. Cassi liked Charms but lately it was hard to keep her focus on what the professor was talking about. Still, the girl didn't have much trouble with that subject. Filtwick started the lesson with a revision of previous charms they had learned and then proceeded to show everyone some new ones. The lesson seemed to end rather quickly, and she was glad that it was so. She felt strange and not quite like herself that day. 

"Are you alright, Miss Reynard?" The short man asked her concerned. "You look awfully tired." Cassi gave him a small smile before shaking her head. 

"It's nothing, professor." She assured him. "I suppose I'm just tired." She gathered her books and her wand as she spoke. "I'll stop by Madame Pomfrey if I feel the need to." He nodded at her and they left the classroom together. She felt her stomach rumble as she walked and decided to head straight to the great hall to have lunch. When she arrived there her eyes looked for Marley in the crowd, however the blond was nowhere to be seen. Cassi sighed and sat by herself on an empty table. 

"Look who decided to show up." A familiar voice said from behind her. She rolled her eyes while a small smiled formed on her lips. 

"Hi George." She greeted him as he sat down next to her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She questioned and he smirked. 

"Fred and I have been looking all over for you." He stated. She saw his twin at the Gryffindor table talking to his younger siblings, Ginny and Ron. The ginger noticed her as well and winked at her from afar. She rolled her eyes at him. 

"Oh, have you now?" She said teasingly. He studied her features carefully; it was hard not to notice the dark circles forming under her eyes. Still he decided against asking her about it; they had only known each other properly for a few days. She saw Fred rushing over to where the two of them were sitting. 

"Have you told her yet, George?" He questioned eagerly. Cassi looked at them a bit confused. _What are they planning this time?_

"Not yet." Replied George. "Care to do the honours?" He asked his twin. Fred smirked. 

"We have thought about a fairly harmless prank that could cause quite a rockus." He announced proudly. 

"It involves Alihotsy Draught and we heard from your dear friend Marley Peterson, that you are quite talented in potion making." The slightly taller twin said. _Oh boy_.

"Let's say _hypothetically_ , that I do help you two brewing Alihotsy Draught..." Cassi started.

"Yes, hypothetically." Fred intervened. 

"What exactly are you planning on doing with it?" 

"That's the best part." George grinned at her." We thought you could tell us what to do with it. Have any vendettas against anyone in particular?"

"Specially someone in Slytherin?" Fred finished. An evil smile spread wide on her face and the twins noticed it as well. She averted her gaze to the two girls she shared a dorm with. The first one was a skinny girl with black hair that went by the name of Margaret Abbott the first cousin of Hannah Abbott. She disliked her own cousin almost as much as she disliked Cassi. This girl had very firm beliefs in blood purity. No one in Slytherin knew exactly what Cassi's blood status was, (Cassi herself didn't know) but the main problem was that she chose to associate with all kinds of wizards and witches. Margaret was one of the main people to refer to Cassi as a blood traitor, soon more people followed her example. Next to Margaret stood Victoria Burke a witch with thick curly hair and tall stature. She had the same ideals as Margaret, although what she liked to pick on the most about Cassi was her frequent nightmares. 

"Those two?" George asked curiously. The two females looked at the girl next to him and began laughing and whispering. Both twins eyed her waiting for an outburst or tears, but her expression remained blank. It was not an unusual sight to see Slytherins turning on each other. Some of them (Draco Malfoy and his minions, for example) shared the same ideals and stood by each other, almost like a cult. Not all of them were like that, though. The ones that were more chill usually got the short end of the stick.

"I'll go find a book about Alihotsy Draught and I'm gonna need you to get the plant for me." The short female explained. "I'm going to try to make the effects last about 30 minutes, more than that could be dangerous. Oh, and we're going to need some masks because the mere smell of Alihotsy can make you laugh hysterically." 

"I'll get the plant; George will go with you and figure out what else you need." The ginger said before running off, leaving the two of them alone. 

"Shall we?" The brunette asked and the boy nodded in response. The two of them headed to the library and he followed the girl. She walked like she knew exactly where to find what she was looking for. She touched the books with the tips of her fingers, murmuring the titles to herself. "I think it's on the top shelve. Could you..." He smiled and extended his long arm in order to reach the top shelve. His shirt rose slightly with his movements exposing the space just below his navel. "The one with the green cover." Cassi told him averting her gaze. 

"I have a place where we can work in private. Follow me." George smiled and pulled her along by her arm. George Weasley was tall. Very tall. His legs where long and his steps were much bigger than hers, which made it hard to keep up. He led her to the second-floor girls’ bathroom. It had been out of order for a while, especially since the Chamber of Secrets incident the previous year. He sat on the floor and gestured for her to do the same, patting the spot next to him. She sat with him and placed the book open on her lap. "So, we have been having classes together since first year, and yet I know absolutely nothing about you and I honestly don’t think I see you around very often." He stated and a smirk formed on her lips. 

"It would seem that it's the case, yes." Cassi flipped the pages of the book, trying to find the information they needed. George looked at her closely. Her eyes were partially brown and partially gray-ish blue, George had never seen eyes like that in his life. Her hair was brown and straight and reaching bellow her shoulders. She had bangs that were getting a bit too long so she would often brush the hair strands aside. She had put her hair up in a ponytail that day and he could make out a black shape in the back of her neck. 

"You have a tattoo." He blurted out. Realizing he had been staring at her neck, Cassi felt her face heat up slightly. George mentally slapped himself for acting a bit like a creep. 

"Oh, yeah I do." She said and noticed him waiting for an explanation. "I found the drawing among my mother's things and decided to get it done. It's inspired by a few Nordic runes, but I honestly don't know why she had it." Cassi took off her robes and allowed the ginger boy to pull a bit her collar down to have a better look. 

"Wicked." He commented and she chuckled. The two of them heard someone clearing their throat and their heads turned to the door quickly. 

"I leave you two alone for thirty minutes and you're already snogging?" Fred asked amused at the sight before him. 

"Fred! It's not what it looks like!" George was quick to explain. "Cass was just showing me her tattoo." He stumbled on his words, clearly embarrassed. 

"Of course, she was." The tall boy winked at them and Cassi rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I got the plant. Charmed the pants right off professor Sprout." The two teens sitting down on the floor pulled a face at the idea. "I will have it by tomorrow. How long will you think you'll take?" He questioned. 

"It only takes about 25 minutes to brew Alihotsy Draught." The girl replied. "We should probably have a plan to make them drink the potion. Any ideas?" The boys looked at each other.

"Leave that to us." Fred told her with a smile. "Tomorrow let's all meet here to put our plan into motion." The three of them agreed to this. The three of them walked to the courtyard and chatted for a bit. It didn't take long for people to join the trio. Lee Jordan stopped by and greeted them with a smile. 

"I heard that your friend Marley is single, care to comment?" He asked her, wiggling his eyebrows. 

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" She gave the boy a wink and he walked toward the blond girl. "Merlin, I didn't think he would actually do it." The trio laughed. 

"Hanging out with the blood traitors again, Reynard?" Margaret Abbot snickered. 

"Why don't you mind your own damn business, Abbot?" Cassi retorted defiantly. The black-haired girl laughed. 

"And what are you going to do if I don't." She smirked. The brown-haired girl took a few steps to face her. The twins watched her wondering what she was going to do next. 

"Tell me Abbot, have you heard about muggle dueling?" The other girl looked at her in confusion, furrowing her eyebrows. What happened next was so unbelievable that the twins could not even believe their eyes. Cassi had landed a pretty hard punch in Margaret's jaw, sending her to the floor. Cassi herself didn't believe she had done it. "Fuck." She felt a hand gripping her own and pulling her away from the courtyard. George and Fred pulled her along as the three of them ran away laughing like maniacs.


	3. About a girl

"I can't believe you actually punched her!" Fred exclaimed remembering the events of the day before. Cassi gestured him to be quiet; in case someone heard them. "And she didn't even say anything to any professors?" He questioned.

"I reckon she was too embarrassed." The girl shrugged with a sly smirk forming on her pink lips. 

"Why are they so mean to you anyway?" George questioned. She shifted on her seat a bit uncomfortably. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk about it but something about George's reassuring eyes that made her feel at ease. Fred was also encouraging her to speak her mind, but it was completely different from his twin. 

"I'm an easy target. I don't have many friends so it's easier to pick on me. It's quite alright, though. It doesn't affect me as much as you'd think." The twins looked at each other, having some sort of telepathic twin conversation. Both knew that she was trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. "They also dislike that I don't share their blood purity ideals." Cassi rolled her eyes. She stirred the liquid in front of her and adjusted her mask. It was very important that none of them inhaled the potion's gas. Fred and George were also wearing a mask while she was preparing the Alihotsy Draught. The liquid began changing colours and Cassi stopped her movements. "It's done." She transferred the liquid into tiny flasks, promptly closing them with a cork them once they were all filled. She pulled down her mask and smiled. 

"There are a lot of flasks. Don't you think it's too much for two people?" Fred asked her. 

"It's only one per person but I figured you two might want to prank some other people besides them." She winked at him. 

"You're bloody brilliant." George said excitedly. 

"We should head to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I heard good things about the professor this year." The brunette said gathering their things and hiding everything in one of the stalls. She walked to the classroom with both the twins following behind her. The three of them sat together in one of the front tables, which was certainly unusual for Fred and George. It was much harder to get into trouble if you sat at the back of the class. 

Professor Remus Lupin was already in the class preparing for his lesson. He turned around to greet them, but no word came out if his mouth. He stared at Cassi with wide eyes. She furrowed her brows once she realized the older man had been looking at her. Fred and George also noticed his odd behaviour and were quick to make a joke. 

"Looks like Professor Lupin fancies you, Cassi." Fred teased her and she elbowed him. "Ouch!" He complained still with a smile on his face. The trio noticed the man approaching them. The older man seemed a bit unsure of what to say. He fixed his tie nervously as he turned to Cassi. 

"Forgive me, Miss..." Lupin trailed off not knowing her name. 

"Reynard. Cassiopeia Reynard." The girl replied feeling a bit uncomfortable. 

"My apologies." He started. "You just look so much like a dear friend of mine." He explained. “Yennefer Reynard. We were classmates and she was a Gryffindor just like me. You’re a family member, I presume?" He questioned offering them a bit of chocolate. 

"I'm her daughter." Cassi retorted. Lupin seemed to be incredibly shocked upon hearing her words. _What a strange man. ___

__"I didn't know she had a daughter. She died so young..." He trailed off again. His expression changed suddenly, like he had remembered something. The brown-haired man looked through his briefcase for a moment before pulling a photo out. The image seemed to be old. It showed Remus Lupin himself along with a couple she didn't recognize and a young woman who looked exactly like her, excpet for her eyes. The woman's eyes were dark brown, while the girl's eyes presented two different colours. Cassi smiled at the sight._ _

__"Is that-" Fred started._ _

__"Sirius Black?" George pointed to the man next to Lupin on the photo. The bearded man picked up the photo gently and his eyes seemed to fill with sadness._ _

__"He wasn't always a killer. This was taken when we all still went to Hogwarts. It's hard to believe we considered him a friend back then." He sighed. "Anyway, you don't need to worry. The dementors will get him eventually." He reassured. "Now turn to page 25."_ _

__***_ _

__"I can't believe your mother knew Sirius Black!" Fred exclaimed. "What happened to her anyways?" George noticed how the girl seem to get very uncomfortable at the question and gestured to his brother. "Oh- I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" She nodded her head with a forced smile on her lips._ _

__"No, it's okay." She reassured him. Over time it had become easier to talk about the subject; although she didn't usually talk about it with anyone. She thought about it for a moment. The twins seemed to be very nice boys despite their seemingly abrasive attitude. They seemed trustworthy and kind. The girl gathered up all her courage to give them a brief summary of what happened to her mom. "I don't really remember much about her, to be honest. I was only seven when she was killed." The trio had halted on their tracks and sat down on the floor to talk. They seemed to be a bit shocked at what she told them. "My uncle killed her. He was a death eater who escaped justice after the First Wizarding War. He is now in Azkaban, thank Merlin."_ _

__"You were very brave to share that with us." George said with a soft smile. "We appreciate that you trust us." She felt a pit forming in her stomach. _This is not the full story._ She couldn't bring herself to tell them the rest. No one knew. Only Donna and a few other people close to her knew about everything that had transpired when she was just a child. __

____"Don't get cocky, Weasley." She teased, trying to push the bad thoughts way._ _ _ _

____"Hey, come have lunch with us at the Gryffindor table." Fred suggested. Cassi felt a bit unsure about his invitation; Gryffindors and Slytherin were nemesis after all._ _ _ _

____"It'll be fun and if anyone is an idiot to you, we can just beat them up." George winked, making the girl chuckle. The three of them got up from where they were sitting and began walking to the great hall._ _ _ _

____The Gryffindor table was much livelier than the Slytherin table. People were cheerfully talking and joking around. They all seemed to have a different presence; like they were all the main character. Granted, it was not exactly a setting Cassi would deliberately seek but maybe trying new things out was a good thing. She recognized some of the faces among the students. Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter were the ones who stood out the most; perhaps because they were known to get themselves in the most bizarre adventures. She also recognized Ginny Weasley and Lee Jordan. Lee was quick to greet them and calling them over._ _ _ _

____"So, you decided to betray your house." The dark-skinned boy joked. He had a devious smile on his lips who told her he was up for some banter. She didn't knew the boy well but ever since she started to hang out with Fred and George he had taken upon himself to make sure she felt welcome. Cassi quite liked his personality and sense of humor._ _ _ _

____"Bold of you to assume that I haven't done before." The girl retorted with a smirk. "So, what do you guys do over here besides thinking you're better than everyone else?"_ _ _ _

____"What do you Slytherins do over there besides using slurs." Ron intervened out of nowhere. He looked angry, though she couldn't exactly tell why. It didn't seem like his anger was directed at her exactly, however it still stung a bit to have someone talk to her with such hostility._ _ _ _

____"That was very uncalled for, Ron." Lee hit him on the arm slightly. "We are all just joking."_ _ _ _

____"Yeah Ronnikins, stop being such a buzzkill." Fred told his younger brother. Ron was still looking a bit angry at the girl's presence._ _ _ _

____"Buzzkill? You know what Malfoy called Hermione last year?" He pointed out and Hermione rolled her eyes. "They are a bunch of snakes and you two are inviting the enemy to eat at our table."_ _ _ _

____"I should go. I don't feel like hearing someone talk out of their ass" Cassi said getting up. George grabbed her hand trying to stop her from leaving. "It's fine, George. I'll see you later." She gave Ron a dirty look before leaving._ _ _ _

____"Now you've done it, Ronald." Hermione complained. "It's not your job to be offended on my behalf." The two of them engaged on some bickering but George wasn't exactly paying attention. He wondered if this sort of thing had happened to Cassiopeia before. He wondered what it felt like not being able to feel like you belong anywhere. Without even realizing it, he had gotten up to go after her. It wasn't really hard to figure out where she had run off to._ _ _ _

____Cassi decided to eat by herself in Myrtle's bathroom. The girl thought about Ron's words. He was right to be angry at the people of her house, since some of them were exactly as he had described. The topic of blood was very much prominent and she had heard about it all of her life. To her it didn't matter, and she didn't share those feelings, but of course she couldn't erase what some Slytherins had done._ _ _ _

____"You look awful." Moaning Myrtle commented. "You should fix yourself, there's a handsome boy at the door." Cassi's head shot to the direction of the entrance. There stood George Weasley a bit unsure if he should approach her. His smile was as inviting as ever and she couldn't help but to grin back at him._ _ _ _

____"George...What are you doing here?" The brunette questioned and the boy walked towards her, sitting down next to her._ _ _ _

____"Just thought I should join you. “He retorted with a smile. "Ron is a huge git, you shouldn't listen to him."_ _ _ _

____"It's whatever." She shrugged. "He is a huge git, though." George laughed._ _ _ _

____"He'll come around eventually." He assured. "I'll make sure he does." He winked. The two of them stayed in comfortable silent for a while, just enjoying each other's company. Cassiopeia looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He ran his fingers through his red hair making it a bit messy; he had a very peaceful expression and his body seemed to be relaxed. The girl realized that she didn't didn't know much about him besides his prankster tendencies._ _ _ _

____"Hey, George?" The boy hummed in response. "Tell me about your family."_ _ _ _

____"As you probably know, I have a lot of siblings." He started. “There’s Bill, he works for Gringotts; Charlie works with dragons in Romania... And I believe you have met Percy." George said pulling a face. Cassi laughed and nodded. "Then there's Fred and yours truly." The ginger gestures to himself. "Then you have our lovely Ronald and Ginny is the youngest. Mum never explicitly said it but all of us know, she _really really _wanted a girl."___ _ _ _

______"So, you have a full house?" Cassi questioned and he nodded in response. "Do you intend on having a job like Bill or Charlie?" George chuckled._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I don't think I'll even finish school." He admitted. "Fred and I have a plan you see, but that's a conversation for another time." The red head winked, and she decided not to press further. "What about you?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Well I not sure what i want to do." The brown-haired girl replied. “I guess I would like to teach Occlumency and Legilimency here. Though, I don't know if those skills are part of the curriculum. If I can't then maybe I would like to become a Potions teacher or even a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"You're a Legilimens?!" George questioned excitedly. "My my, Cassiopeia Reynard you are truly fascinating." The boy opened his mouth to speak but he was immediately cut off._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I will not use it as a way to prank people if that's what you are thinking about."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Such wasted potential."_ _ _ _ _ _


	4. The letter

"Blimey!" Cassi exclaimed. "So, Sirius Black was actually in the castle?" The twins nodded in response. She was still shocked at how easily a convicted murderer had broken into the castle. "He even passed through the dementors..."

"Dumbledore said he didn't stay long, though." Fred told her. "I overheard them saying he is after Harry. To finish what You-Know-Who started." 

"How we are still allowed to be at Hogwarts is truly beyond me." The brunette said eating a bit of bread. 

"Let's talk about other stuff, please. Happier stuff." Lee requested feeling a shiver run down his spine. "You three told me you had a plan set into motion." The trio smirked at the boy. 

"It should be starting any minute now." George said. The teens looked at the Slytherin table anxiously. Margaret and Victoria were conversing with a few fellow students and munching on some cupcakes decorated with their house colours. Cassi noticed that a lot of students had cupcakes exactly like those. _Oh boy. ___

__Without a warning Margaret busted out laughing, along with Victoria and a dozen of other Slytherins. McGonagall got up rather quickly noticing something was wrong. It didn't take long for the entire of the great hall to turn into a complete mess. Snape and McGonagall were running back and forth trying to stop the students from laughing. The students fell on the floor or began running around completely out of their minds. The students who had not been affected by the potion were also laughing hard. That lasted for about 15 minutes, before the laughter started to die down._ _

__"Damn, I really tried to make the potion last half an hour." The brunette complained._ _

__"No matter, we got the result we wanted." Fred said with a grin. "And the best part is that no one will ever know it was us."_ _

__"Everyone thinks we're too stupid to pull something like this off." George laughed._ _

__"I still think we could have done something a little bit more creative. Like make everyone drink veritaserum or something. Imagine the chaos." The teen girl suggested with a smirk._ _

__"Calm down, you rascal." George told her. It was then that McGonagall made eye contact with him and Fred from across the room. "Oh no." He muttered._ _

__"Weasleys!" She yelled and walked toward them angrily. "I know you two are responsible for this!"_ _

__"I highly doubt that they pulled off this potion on their own." Snape commented._ _

__"That's because we didn't!" Fred said._ _

__"How could we possibly pull a potion like this off when we are both failing potions?" George tried to reason. _Well, they aren't exactly lying. _"Besides, how are you going to accuse us without any evidence?" The two teachers looked at each other in annoyance and then at the headmaster. Dumbledore just shrugged and went on his merry way, humming to himself. Professor McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.___ _

____"One toe out of line, you two and I guarantee you'll have a month worth of detention cleaning the trophies room with a toothbrush." She threatened the two boys. Cassi just tried her best to contain her laughter. "And if we do find out proof that you are responsible for this, you'll also be cleaning the Owlery."_ _ _ _

____"As for you Miss Reynard, I'll be keeping an eye on you." Snape said pointing to his own eyes with two fingers and then pointing said fingers in her direction. Once he has his back turned Cassi stuck her tongue out and repeated his movements._ _ _ _

____"Well that was fun." She said amused. "Except for the part we almost got caught." The group laughed._ _ _ _

____"We weren't caught that's what matters." Fred retorted._ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

____The days seemed to be passing rather quickly. The first rains had began to fall and the cold had settled in. The Holidays were just around the corner and Cassiopeia wasn't feeling all that festive. Just like she was expecting she received a letter from Donna and her wife Charlie, saying they would not be home in time for Christmas; which greatly worsened her mood. Along with the letter came a box full of her mother's stuff, that the two woman had found at Cassi's old house back in Portugal. She and her mother lived there until she was four years old; she was even told that her mother gave birth to her there. Although, she didn't remember much about the country she was certain she wanted to go back there some day._ _ _ _

____The box contained mostly photos of her mother when she was a child, some pictures of Cassi when she was just a wee baby and some old drawings. Looking more carefully into the box she found more letters that her mother had exchanged with her friends back in England._ _ _ _

____**_Dear Donna,_** _ _ _ _

_____**_My due date is approaching so I cannot go back just yet. Dark times are coming and I cannot risk the safety of my daughter. I miss you and Charlie terribly. Please keep me updated on everyone's whereabouts (specially Lily, James, Sirius, Peter and Remus). I have an awful feeling of dread washing over me. PS: It's a girl._** _ _ _ _ _

_____**_With love,_** _ _ _ _ _

_____**_Yennefer._** _ _ _ _ _

______That letter was probably written during the time when The Dark Lord was still in power. She thought that was why her mother decided to run away. Maybe if Harry's parents had done the same things would have been entirely different. Maybe He would still be here. She shook those thoughts away. It was hard to picture a world where Voldemort won._ _ _ _ _ _

______She scammed through the replies between Donna and her mother. There wasn't much to unpack, they were just checking up on each other and mentioning what was happening during The First Wizarding War. There was even one addressed to Remus Lupin asking about his wellbeing and what was happening in that time. As she was looking at the letters on the box, she found one that immediately sparked her attention._ _ _ _ _ _

______**_Dear Yen,_** _ _ _ _ _ _

_______**_I don't know where you are, and Donna won't tell me what happened. All I know is that you probably won't come back any time soon. Whatever happened, I promise you I will do my best to help you. It's been two years since we last spoke and even if you don't wish to tell me what's going on, I hope you can at least guarantee me that you are safe and well. Remus came back with this talk about spies and I'm afraid he has turned to the dark side. Everything seems to be crumbling right in front of my eyes. I hope to hear from you soon._** _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______**_Yours,_** _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______**_Sirius._** _ _ _ _ _ _

________She read the whole thing again to make sure she had read it properly. Sirius Black? This was probably not long before he had been sent to Azkaban. She felt sick as she scanned the letter once more. He really had faked concerned for her mother and implied Lupin was a traitor. Sirius was truly an awful person. Cassi ran her fingers through her hair, letting out a big sigh. It was then that she noticed a letter addressed to Black himself, written by her mother. This letter was sealed, and it looked like it never was sent. She looked curiously at it. She was interrupted before she could open the letter by her friend Marley._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"So, Lee Jordan asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him next weekend." The blond told her. "I suppose that's partially your fault." She smirked a slight blush forming on her cheeks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"You're welcome." Cassi winked. She set the letter back in the box and closed it. This matter would have to wait for the time being._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"What's going on between you and Weasley number 2?" She asked curiously. "You seem to be together quite a lot."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Who? George?" Her friend shrugged not knowing which was which. "Nothing is going on between us." She laughed a little too hard. "We're just good friends."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"You should probably tell him that." The shorter girl wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, making Cassi hit her arm playfully._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________***_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Cassi had heard about what had happened to Harry through Angelina Johnson. She was a bit taken aback by the seriousness of his fall. This was exactly why she felt so uncomfortable with the dementors roaming around freely, they would eventually attack someone. Angelina told her the twins were in the hospital wing with him and the two girls walked together to meet with everyone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She ended up deciding against going into the hospital wing. The Gryffindors wouldn't want her there anyways and she really didn't want to upset Harry. It didn't take long for the two boys to leave and meet with her outside. Fred ran after Angelina, while George stayed behind with her. He was still sweaty, and his hair was a mess; his cheeks were stained with dirt, however his skin glistened in a way she thought was strangely attractive. He wiped his face on his sleeve, suddenly feeling self-conscious about his appearance. He tried to discreetly put his hair back into place but to no avail._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"What a crazy situation." The short female said trying to break the silence. "Did anyone see Potter being attacked?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"No, but Dumbledore is furious." He retorted. "Harry will be okay though. His broom on the other hand, that's a whole different story." The girl chuckled. George stared at her for a while. She seemed to have a lot on her mind but at the same time it didn't look like she wanted to share anything. "Hey, let's see if we can get some hot chocolate from the kitchen. I could really use something sweet." She agreed and they walked together until they reached their destination. The two teens decided to take the hot chocolate and climb to the astronomy tower, to watch the sun set. "You seem distracted." He pointed out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"I got some of my mother's stuff today." Cassi explained. George looked at her knowing there was more that was bothering her. "And Donna said she won't be home for Christmas." She pouted. The boy had never once had to worry about not having anyone home for Christmas, so he couldn't even imagine what it would be like to spend it alone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Why don't you come to The Burrow with me and Fred?" He suggested._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Oh no, I couldn't possibly put your parents through the trouble of having another person over. " She took a big sip of her chocolate, feeling her face hit up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"It wouldn't any trouble. Mum and Dad would want to meet you." The ginger smiled. "Besides, Ron said he wants to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas; so, you have no excuses."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"George..." She started biting down at her lip. "What makes you think your parents would even allow me to go?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Well..." He swallowed. "Because I already told them you were coming."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	5. The Weasleys

George Weasley wasn't the type of guy to snog many girls. His brother who was more impulsive and confident and so he was a bit more lucky with the ladies. George, on the other hand was a hopeless romantic and so it was a bit harder for him to find someone. He wasn't one to actively try to get girls as well. He had gotten a few kisses from a girl on his third year but other than that, he hadn't really tried with anyone else. It was no wonder he was utterly confused when Ron accused him of snogging Cassiopeia Reynard on the Astronomy Tower. 

"Excuse me, I did what with who?" George asked confused after hearing Ron's accusation.

"Don't play dumb! Everyone is talking about how you got that Slytherin girl to snog you on the Astronomy Tower." His brother told him angrily. Fred was quiet for once, watching everything unfold with a smirk on his face. "You are snogging the enemy!" 

"Ronald please, it's none of your business who George is or isn't snogging." Hermione interjected rolling her eyes in annoyance. 

"That's the thing, Granger. I didn't snog anyone." He couldn't say he hadn't thought about it before, though. The girl had soft pink lips the she would bite on when she was embarrassed or in deep thought. He would be lying if he said he hadn't wondered what it would be like if he was the one to bite on them. "We were at the Astronomy Tower but we were just drinking some hot chocolate." He assured. "Why are you so angry about it anyway? If I want to snog her I will, and you don't have any say in it." Ron prepared to say something but Fred quickly interrupted him. 

"And do you want to snog her?" He wiggled his eyebrows. George rolled his eyes and playfully hit him in the arm. "That's not a no." He said in a sing-song voice. 

"Cass and I are just friends." The ginger said firmly. 

"You still haven't denied it." It was Harry's turn to tease. 

"Shut it, Potter. Or I'll get that map back." George threatened and the boy with glasses laughed.

***

Cassi was putting her things on her trunk while Marley kept her some company. The girl would be travelling abroad with her parents during the holidays. She was quite excited about and talked about it non stop. Having rich muggle parents had some advantages, although she couldn't quite understand why they insisted on flying to their destination instead of using any of the wizarding means of transportation. The brunette laughed as she heard her friend. 

"Maybe it's a bit scary to them." She told her. "And it will be nice to try something different." The blond agreed with her. 

"Are Donna and Charlie coming home for Christmas? Is that why you are packing?" She questioned as her friend folded another jumper. 

"No, they aren't unfortunately." Cassi explained. "George invited me to go to his house for Christmas, that's why I'm packing." She heard Marley gasping and immediately regretted telling her about it. "It's not what you're thinking." The shorter girl jumped off the bed and squealed. 

"Oh my Merlin!" She exclaimed. "I bet he fancies you! Question is: do you fancy him?" The brunette felt her face heat up and this didn't go unnoticed. "You do!" 

"Do not! It's just embarrassing to hear you say that." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Besides, I'm friends with Fred as well. He also wanted me to go." She tried to reason with her friend but it was too late. Marley was already to invested in her "relationship" with George Weasley. She closed her trunk and tried to think of anything she might have forgotten. She put on her black duffle coat, a white hat with a pom pom at the top and her Slytherin scarf, since she didn't own any besides that one. "Are you ready?" She asked her. 

"Let's go." Marley said running off to get her things as well. The two girls headed to where the train was gonna be and chatted for a while as they waited. It didn't take long for the twins to join the both of them at the station. The four of them walked into the train and looked for an empty cabin to sit. "Looks like not many people are staying at the school for Christmas." The blond commented. Although, Marley intended to stay with the trio it didn't take long for other people to come and find her. She ended up being pulled to another cabin by some of her Hufflepuff friends. 

"And that's on being popular." Cassi laughed. Marley had always been quite the social butterfly. She was dynamic in social situations, incredibly charismatic and quite good at social networking. She was well liked in Hogwarts, having a pretty diverse friend group, with many people from different houses. She was also funny and witty, that's what drew Cassi to her in the first place.

How they had met was actually a pretty funny story. Although the blond girl was very easy going now, it hadn't always been like that. Cassi recalled how she had met her on her third year, while Marley was on her first year. The brunette had been reading a muggle book on the great hall by herself when she felt a pair of eyes on her. She tried to ignore it at first but ended up setting the book down and shot a death glare at Marley. She was only a first year then and quite the awkward child. Later, the younger girl explained to her she was staring because she thought Cassi was pretty and she wanted to be her friend. 

"How can a Slytherin be so popular?" Fred asked. The girl furrowed her eyebrows at the ginger boy. 

"Slytherins are considered to be leaders. That's one of our traits." She explained. "You two really know nothing about our house at all. I bet you also think all Ravenclaws are nerds and all Hufflepuffs are cowards." The two boys looked at each other and the brown-eyed girl shook her head in disappointment. "You boys have a lot to learn." She commented. 

*** 

The trip was long, however Cassi spent most of it reading to pass the time, while the boys slept for most of it. They took their stuff and looked for Mr and Mrs Weasley. It truly didn't take long to find them, their fiery red hair stood out in the crowd. Arthur Weasley was a ginger (of course), slightly going bald. He was tall, wore glasses and had blue eyes. Molly Weasley was short, slightly plump and had warm brown eyes. They both had kind smiles on their faces. Percy and Ginny joined her, the twins and their parents. They took turns exchanging hugs, leaving Cassi standing a bit on the side awkwardly. 

"You must be the Slytherin girl." Mrs Weasly said looking at the short girl. She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. 

"It's nice to meet you Mrs Weasly, I'm Cassiopeia Reynard." She extended her hand to her. The older woman took it but instead of shaking it she pulled her quickly into a hug. "Oh okay, we're doing hugs." She laughed awkwardly. 

"Fred and George told me all about you." The ginger woman said with a smile. " I believe you already met my husband before." The tall man gave her an awkward smile. They had met before once when she had stopped by her godmother's office. She remembered he was a bit shy but very polite. He shook her hand and the girl smiled. 

"Such a shame Donna won't be here. It would be nice to have her and Charlie over as well." The girl had to agree. Mrs Weasley gestured for everyone to followed them so they could use a portkey to get to The Burrow. 

The Burrow was located at the outskirts Ottery St Catchpole in Devon. The house was held up by magic and there was a big garden with a pond nearby. It all seemed so beautiful to Cassi. She was used to a gray flat she had inherited from her mother. An empty house, with things rarely put to use. She loved Donna to death but she spent a lot of time at her work, making Cassi feel lonely. She could feel that The Weasley's house was an actual home. She smiled as she walked in with everyone. 

Mrs Weasley told the brunette she could use Bill's old bedroom during her stay. Even though she would have loved to share with Ginny she worried about her nightmares. She wondered if the girl would treat her like the girls that shared a dorm with her, if she ever witnessed the screaming and panting caused by the horrific dreams she had. The thought made her fiddle with the small vial in the pocket of her coat. George walked her to the bedroom and helped her setting her things down. Cassi sat on the bed and sighed. 

"It's not a very fancy home but-" The boy started. 

"It's perfect." She smiled. Taking the blue potion out of her pocket she took a small sip, feeling her anxiety getting a bit heightened. George wondered what exactly she was drinking but he decided not to ask, noticing how she was behaving a bit strangely. The two teens went downstairs to go help Mrs Weasley with dinner. As she walked to the kitchen she noticed her owl standing on a window. "Virgo?" She opened the window and allowed the animal to get in. "What you doing here?" The dark owl bit affectionately on her finger. There was a small paper tied to his leg. "Oh Merlin." She said realizing she had been sent a letter that read itself. George laughed loudly making Fred run to them to see what was happening. 

"Go on. Open it." They encouraged. Carefully, Cassi opened the letter.

"Cassiopeia Reynard!" Donna's voice echoed through The Burrow, making Mrs Weasley's head shot up in curiosity."Charlie and I decided to send you a birthday card since we can't be with you. You better not give The Weasley's any trouble while you are there, otherwise I will hunt you down!" Suddenly it was Charlie's voice who echoed, instead of Donna's.

"We miss you so much darling. I hope you like your present! Don't forget to write us. We love you!" Usually talking letters would be used mostly on Ministry's affairs but of course they had managed to get permission to use one in such a way. It was still better than the year before, when Donna decided to send her an Howler to wish her a happy birthday. 

"Bloody hell." Ginny said still a bit in shock. 

"It's your birthday?! Why didn't you say anything?!" Molly Weasley yelled while she walked toward the girl. 

"I don't usually celebrate my birthday. It's on the 25th, so it feels a bit redundant." Cassi explained shyly. 

"I'm going to make a cake for you, sweetie." The older woman offered. "And don't say I don't have to and you don't want to give me any trouble. I'm much more stubborn than what you might think." She said pinching the girl's cheek affectionately. The short girl blushed deeply. 

"T-Thank you so much Mrs Weasley." Cassi's cheeks turned red. She didn't want all of that attention on her but she was grateful for Mrs Weasley's kindness. The woman got to work and she decided to talk a bit with the other kids.

Percy didn't seem to pay any attention to her, going as far as leaving for his room. She thought the young wizard was very arrogant and she didn't care much for him. Ginny was much more fun to talk to. She was still a bit younger than her so the two girls didn't have much in common. Cassi still thought Ginny was a very intelligent witch and considered her to be very strong. Even thought they were different she let Ginny play with her hair as they chatted, making it into a braid with a few flowers decorating it. 

The red head girl talked a bit about her year at Hogwarts and her desire to join the Quidditch team. Cassi listened attentively as the girl told her about the misadventures of the twins throughout the years and the troubles that they used to get themselves into. Ginny also talked about her brother Bill, whom she admire very much. George and Fred also joined the conversation. The lot ended up being told to set the table by Mr Weasley. Despite their financial issues they had a table in front of them full of the most delicious food. The conversation about their family continued at the table. 

"It's a shame Donna is out doing affairs for the Department of Mysteries." Arthur Weasley commented and Percy's head shot up suddenly. 

"Your mother works of the Ministry?" The boy asked suddenly very interested. 

"Donna is not my mother. She is my legal guardian and my godmother." Cassi explained but he didn't seem to care about that. "Before you ask I don't know what she does, it's all kept under rugs and I never tried to ask her about it." 

"Maybe she could get me a job there." He said making almost everyone at the table roll their eyes. 

"Maybe you could get yourself a job there." She shot back with a smirk on her lips. Percy immediately went quiet and started picking at his food, his ears almost as red as his hair. Fred and George laughed quietly. When she finished her food she took the small vial out of her pocket and took another sip. 

Once everyone was done Molly Weasley used magic to clean everything up. Cassi followed the twins to their shared bedroom and the three talked for a while. Fred told her a bit about their plans for future pranks and they discussed many ways to put them into practice. After a while the girl began feeling drowsy due to the potion given by Madam Pomfrey. As Fred spoke about a multitude of things, his voice began to sound lower and lower. Soon she was half asleep, her eyes feeling so heavy it was impossible to keep them open. She felt someone putting an arm around her back and behind her knees, lifting her. The smell of fireworks lingered in the air before everything went black. 


	6. Cinnamon and fireworks

The night before Christmas Cassiopeia Reynard stayed awake. She let herself be consumed by the darkness of the night, staring right into it, wide awake. She feared the things she already knew were true, rather than the mysteries that the night held. She didn't want to dream, not with the Weasleys there. She didn't want to see the concern on Molly Weasley's eyes again, or Fred and George trying to help. She wanted to feel normal for one night.

The nights she had stayed there had been complicated, to say the least. The potion given by Madame Pomfrey helped her sleep better; however, there was one night she had a pretty awful dream, which resulted in Mrs Weasley bursting into her room. She hated that she had to see her like that. The girl sat on the bed in frustration and decided to get up and get some air. 

The girl only had a t-shirt and baggy pants to sleep, she had been relying on the covers to keep warm but now that she was out of bed, she felt shivers running down her spine. It would seem like the big fireplace they had at The Burrow was no longer producing any heat. She hugged herself as she tip-toed down the stairs, not wanting to wake up anyone. She decided against going outside in her current attire; instead she hung around the kitchen. Mr Weasley had made some cinnamon tea and she helped herself to some. 

Cassi looked around. The house was so quiet, one could only hear the soft sound of the rain hitting the ceiling. The Burrow always had a scent of fresh bread and wood in the air. Everything about that place was homey and welcoming. She sighed deeply, holding the mug close to her, feeling the warmth on her fingers. She took one more sip of the sweet cinnamon tea and smiled to herself in contempt.

"Cassi?" She heard a voice behind her. It had scared her so much she almost dropped the mug.

"George! You startled me." She told him whispering. His hair was messy, he had red and grey pyjamas and his jumper tied around his waist. You could tell by his face he had been sleeping quite deeply, having a tiny bit dry drool on his cheek. He rubbed his eyes like he was trying to wipe off the sleepiness.

"Sorry, love." George said as he looked for something in the cupboard. "Can't sleep?" He took a jar with cookies out of the cupboard and quickly took two out, one of which he gave to Cassi. 

"Yeah." The two teens sat down at the table eating staying in comfortable silence. Once she was done eating, she hugged herself tightly once again. George stood up untying his jumper and giving it to her. "No, it's okay. You don't have to." He didn't budge and the brunette was forced to take his jumper. The peace of clothing was green with a big G at the centre. She quickly put it on. 

"Doesn't that feel better?" He smiled and Cassi nodded. "Do you need anything? You aren't giving us any trouble so feel free to ask anything." He assured her.

"No, I'm okay. I just always had trouble sleeping." The brown-haired girl explained. She played with the sleeves of George's shirt nervously. George truly didn’t know anything about her nightmares or why she had them so often. She had already had two during her stay at The Burrow and it really scared him how terrified she looked. The first time he was the one who rushed over. He still could hear her screams ringing in his ears. He thought for a moment about a way he could help.

"Not anymore." He said triumphantly. “I put a spell on that jumper that protects the user from bad dreams." He joked making the shorted girl laugh slightly. The girl hit his stomach with her elbow lightly, in a playful way. For a moment they stayed silent again. She felt at ease around George, he was quite empathetic and level-headed despite all the troubles he got himself too. Cassi was very grateful he was so kind to her without even asking questions. She wondered what her life would be at the moment if the ginger boy standing next to her hadn’t sat down with her at the library on that fateful day. She started to play with the sleeves of his jumper again. "Hey, Cass?" The girl hummed in response. "I'm glad you decided to come with us. You've been a great friend to me and Fred." 

"Are you going soft on me, Weasley?" She joked, but soon her smirked turned into a soft smile. "I'm glad I came as well." After that moment they shared both teens decided to get some sleep. George watched Cassi disappear onto his brother's old room smiling to himself. Cassi threw herself onto the bed. Her eyes felt heavy and her body was relaxed. The smell of fireworks came back, mixed with the scent of the cinnamon tea. That night Cassiopeia Reynard didn't dream. 

***

The girl woke up rather early. She decided not to waste any time getting out of bed, since she could already hear people downstairs. She put on some slippers and hurried to the kitchen. Mrs Weasley was baking a cake, she assumed was for her birthday. The ginger woman was carefully decorating it with white frosting. Cassi's mouth watered at the sight. Once the woman took notice of her presence, she held her arms open to give her a hug. 

"Happy birthday, dear!" She said holding her tightly. Once again, she felt really overwhelmed with the affection Molly Weasley had been showing her. She felt her eyes water but tried her best to hold in the tears.

"Happy birthday, Cassiopeia." Arthur Weasley smiled kindly at her and invited her to sit with him at the table. "Oh dear, is that George's jumper?" He pointed out making Cassi look down at the shirt and then back at him embarrassed. 

"Oh, yeah he let me have it because I was cold." She explained. She watched Ginny Weasley walk down the stairs and run to hug her as well, wishing her a happy birthday. The twins followed, along with Percy. She spared a small glance at George. The boy had his bed hair and looked a bit sleepy, rubbing his eyes lightly as he moved down the stairs. Fred on the other hand, didn't seem as sleepy as George and quickly ran to her and hugged her excitedly, yelling out 'happy birthday'. George soon followed and gave her a hug as well, cracking up a joke about how she was getting old. The lot sat down on the kitchen and ate the breakfast Molly had prepared. 

"Oh! I got you some Christmas gifts!" Cassi suddenly remembered. The brown-haired girl quickly ran to her room to get what she had in her bag. When she got to the kitchen again everyone seemed eager to figure out what she held in her hand. Even Percy leaned slightly to her, curiously. She set a small black bag on the table. Cassi placed her entire arm inside it to take out what she was looking for. "For Mr Weasley: I have this." She held out a small object with "Arthur" inscribed on it. His eyes filled with delight. 

"What is it?" He inspections it carefully. 

"It's a lighter." She clicked it and showed him how it created a flame. "It's a muggle object, I thought you would like it." 

"It has my name on it!" He proudly showed his wife. Percy rolled his eyes and got up running back to his room. 

"For Mrs Weasley: a Mokeskin pouch. I thought it would be useful for punishing Fred and George." The two boys looked at her shocked. "Come on boys don't be so upset. I got something for you two as well." She looked through the small bag again. She showed them a small vial with a clear with a clear liquid on it. "I think you two remember what I wanted to do when we did the thing to the Slytherins." They looked at each other confused at first but then a look of recognition spread across their faces. "A few drops would be enough." She winked. "And use it wisely!"

"Of course, who do you take us for?" Fred said. Cassi rolled her eyes at him but could not contain her smile. 

"Ginny." She called the small girl. "Honestly, I had already talked with George about your love for Quidditch, so I manage to get you some Omnioculars." The girl handed them to her. She squealed in excitement and began trying them out. "I think that's everything." She smiled softly. 

"It's your birthday but you were the one giving everyone presents." George pointed out smiling. He leaned a bit in her direction and said in a low voice. "I also got you something." The rest of the family began lifting the table or leaving to do something else, so none of them paid much attention to the two teens. 

"George, you didn't have to-" 

"I know but I wanted to." He handed her a small wooden box. Cassi opened and took out a small black ring that changed to a dark blue as soon as she touched it. "It's a mood ring. A magical one, not like those muggles have." He explained. "Since I... can't quite figure you out sometimes. That will help me, I guess." He rubbed the back of his neck. The ring turned pink and Cassi closed her fist around it, in order to hide it. _Hopefully he didn't notice._

George had purchased the ring on one of the weekends they went to Hogsmeade. When she told him, she would for sure be going to spend the holidays at his place, he made it his mission to make sure she felt welcomed. Fred had told him she was already over the mood with the invite, but he decided that that would not suffice. So he got the ring with some of his savings; though he would never tell her that, fearing she would feel bad that he spent money on her. Thankfully the ring also adjusted to their wearer’s finger size.

"T-Thank you." She struggled to find the right words. "I really like it." The ginger smiled softly at her and then looked down at his lap. An awkward silence set between them, until Fred cleared his throat. 

"We're going to play gobstones outside. You guys want to join, or are you not done pinning over each other?" He joked making George throw a used napkin at him. The two began running around trying to catch each other and Cassi just laughed at them, before deciding to join.

*** 

After they sung her a happy birthday and eating some cake the Weasley's began walking back to their respective rooms to sleep. Once again Cassiopeia decided to join the twins for a while. She took the small vial with the blue potion and took a long sip. She sat on George's bed listening to the boys talking about her gift. She had given them veritaserum and she was almost certain that chaos would ensue soon at Hogwarts now that they had a potion like that on their possession. Still, when she thought about what they might do with it, she almost laughed. 

"I think we should save it for something big." George argued. Fred crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. It was in Fred's nature to be more impulsive than his brother, so of course he was already planning something for when they got back to Hogwarts. "I don't think you actually understand what we have on our hands. This is big Freddie." 

"How did you get it anyway." Fred asked the girl and she smirked. 

"Made it myself." She explained. "You know Fred, I do agree with George. I think you guys should do something big with it." The slightly shorter twin sighed but ultimately agreed. "For now, let's just sleep on it." She yawned. "I'm going to bed." The trio said goodnight to each other, and Cassi left to her room. Within minutes she was asleep. 

That night Cassi had the weirdest dream she could recall. Instead of a nightmare she just dreamed about a big ginger-coloured cat running off with a big black dog. A male voice called her name as the two animals ran together. She woke up a bit startled. Rubbing her eyes, she got up to grab a quill and some parchment from her things. Cassi wrote down her dream due to it being so different from everything she had ever dreamt. She made a mental note to talk with Professor Trelawney about it before going back to bed to sleep some more.


	7. Flying

March arrived without a warning. Suddenly the snow melted, and a green tapestry covered the ground beneath Cassiopeia's feet. The last months had been rather quiet, even if you hung around the Weasley twins. The boys had been busy with Quidditch and Cassi spent most of her time studying for her OWLs, even if they were still a few months away. She couldn't risk doing poorly.

Even though the trio was sort of separated most of the time, they still got together to start some fires. Quite literally. A while back, Cassi and the boys had accidentally started a fire to Snape's cauldron while he wasn't looking. Fred reckoned that "Snape running around like a big greasy chicken" was the funniest thing he had ever seen. The boys ended up getting into trouble with him and got a whole month of detention. They were incredibly annoyed that Cassi hadn't gotten caught and vowed to get back at her. She just laughed it off when they told her they would.

One fine morning when she decided to join her friends for breakfast, as she usually would. Fred and George were being extra nice that day and she knew they would try something. The mischief behind their smiles was hard not to notice. She noticed quite quickly the weird looking sweets they had given her, she assumed they were one of their experiments and that they probably had a pretty adverse effect. She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Fred, darling. What are those?" Cassi pointed to them. the twins exchanged stared trying hard to hide their excitement. 

"Oh. Those aren't for you." The older twin told her. His gaze lingered on her, waiting for a reaction of any time. Cassi decided, however that she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. The girl remained expressionless staring at her friends. She noticed Lee Jordan also waiting for something to happen. 

"Reverse psychology? Really?" Somehow she expected a better plan coming from them. She singled out the weird looking sweets they had mixed in her plate and got back to eating quietly. She took a sip of the orange juice they had served her and a bite out of some pancakes. The twins had seemingly got back to their conversation and Lee was no longer waiting and observing her. She knew this wouldn't be the last attempt to prank her, though. Suddenly she felt her stomach dropping, a weird feeling forming inside of her. Cassi began coughing furiously, attracting Hermione's attention who rushed to give her a pat on the back. A look of shock formed on the girls face. "What is it?" She questioned. The bushy-haired girl looked in her pockets for a small mirror and held it on Cassi's face. "Bloody hell." She had aged about 50 years. Fred, George and Lee busted out laughing. "You pricks! You put an aging potion on my juice." She couldn't help but to laugh a bit. 

Hermione ended up suggesting that she would go to the hospital wing to get her young self back. The two Weasley boys decided to escort her. They were still laughing like maniacs while walking her there. Cassi had to grab George's arm as they walked. The aging potion had also aged her spine. 

"Aw granny, do you need us to get you a little walking stick?" George took a jab at her current state. 

"George Fabian Weasley, respect your elders." Cassi joked. The three of them laughed loudly.

"Cassi, you look bloody ancient." Fred giggled pointing a finger at her. 

"I think I look sexy for an old lady." She commented. They got to the hospital wing rather quickly considering she had a bit of trouble walking, being temporally 50 years older. When they walked inside Madam Pomfrey gasped loudly as she realized the state Cassi was in. The woman was quick to tell the two boys to leave them at once. She began her treatments shortly after. 

"There you go, darling." Madame Pomfrey pinched her cheek. "No more wrinkles. Those boys are nothing but trouble." She said with a hint of annoyance on her voice. 

"I thought it was sort of funny." She shrugged with a smile. 

"Have you been taking your potion?" The older woman questioned. The teen shifted uncomfortably on her seat. "It's not working." She concluded by looking at the girls face. 

"I don't understand any of it." Cassi told the woman. "It makes the dreams a bit less frequent but it never makes them stop." The brunette was incredibly frustrated. 

"I'm afraid we have to take another approach." She sat next to her and held her hand. "These nightmares are from trauma, but I think you already knew that." Cassi pulled her hand away and looked down. "Perhaps you should talk to Professor Snape. He can try to access that part of your mind." 

"He can't." She said quickly."Is there nothing else we can do?" The old woman nodded and Cassi sighed. 

"You should talk to someb-"

"I really don't want to." Her hand began to shake. "Thank you for all the help, Madame Pomfrey." She gave her a half smile. Pomfrey gave her a quick hug and a squeeze on the hand. After the exchange, the girl decided to leave to the great hall in hopes of finding the twins there. As she approached the Gryffindor table she noticed most of them were rather agitated. "What happened?" She asked Hermione. 

"Ron claims he saw Sirius Black slicing his curtains." Her eyes went wide with shock. "Most of us didn't believe him but Sir Cadogan admitted he let him in and that he had the passwords." Hermione explained. 

"Bloody hell! Is Ron okay?" Cassi questioned. 

"I don't know, we aren't really on speaking terms." The girl crossed her arms over her chest while Ron gave her a dirty look. The twins ran to the table to join them waving enthusiastically at Cassi.

"Not that it's any of your business Reynard, but I am fine." He spat and the Slytherin girl rolled her eyes at him. "Maybe it was you who helped him into the castle. You and your evil Slytherin friends." Cassie laughed loudly. 

"Wow my day is complete. Ronald Weasley has accused me of evil." She gestured dramatically with her hands. She could see a little smirk forming on Harry's lips. 

"Is he bothering you, Cassi?" Fred questioned. "Maybe he wants us to turn his pillow into a spider while he sleeps." Ron's eyes went wide in fear. It would seem they had done that before, judging by Ron's reaction.

"Thanks Fred but I can handle little Ronnikins just fine on my own." She gave him a smirk. "How was detention boys?" 

"How do you think it was?" The older twin shrugged. "At least me and Georgie had some time alone to talk, isn't that right George?" George seemed to tense up. 

"Shut up." He rolled his eyes. "Why don't you tell us how it feels to be over 60, Cass'" George teased. 

"I shall have my revenge." Cassi promised the two boys. Suddenly she felt a light tap on her shoulder. When she turned around she found Marley Peterson staring back at her. "Hey Marley. What's up?" 

"I have been looking all over for you." Marley said. "I found this on your bed when I was looking for you and decided to take away before Abbot and Burke decide to snoop around." She handed her a small envelop with her mother's name on it. Hermione looked at her strangely and then to the paper on Cassi's hands. She opened it and read the content. "Well?" 

"It's a letter for my mom." She explained. 

"From who?" George asked. 

"Sirius Black." 

***

"Are you going to open it?" Harry questioned staring at the letter in her hands. "Do you want me to open it? Or maybe-" Hermione slapped his arm and gave him a look. "Sorry. I don't mean to pressure but that man was responsible for my parents' deaths." Cassiopeia bit her lip nervously. "What?" 

"Well... There's another letter actually." Harry's eyes widen at her words. "My mother wrote him, I'm guessing while she was pregnant with me and it looks like she never sent it." She looked around to stare at everyone. They seemed eager to know what it said, she was feeling a lot of pressure to open the letter. George seemed to notice her discomfort and decided to intervene. 

"Why don't we give Cass some privacy. The letter is for her anyway." They seemed disappointed that their curiosity would not be satisfied.. 

"Wait." She grabbed Harry by the arm and stopped him from leaving. "Harry deserves to know." He nodded muttering a small 'thank you' to her. The two of them left and decided to sit on a bench on the courtyard; there weren't many students there at the time, so they wouldn't be disturbed. They tore open the envelop but instead of finding a letter, they found a photograph. On it there was a young Sirius Black, with a soft smile on his lips; this contrasted greatly with the his photo on the wanted posters. He had his arm around a young woman who looked awfully like Cassi. As the photo moved the two of them stared into each others eyes affectionately. "Oh don't tell me my mother was shagging Sirius Black." Cassi face palmed. 

"They do seem rather close." Harry laughed nervously. His eyes widen once he had a realization. "You don't think that maybe he is your-" 

"Heavens no! I don't know much about my father but I do know that his name was Marco Sousa. He took my mum out of the UK during the wizarding war. He was killed along with her when I was very young." She turned the photo around and realized someone had written something on the back. "To my beautiful star. I'm counting the days to see you again. Love, Sirius" She read out loud. "I think I'm gonna vomit." 

"He may not be your father but he was definitely shagging your mom." Harry joked. 

"I'm sorry about your parents Harry." She said touching his hand. "How are you holding up?" 

"He was their friend. Sirius, I mean." He looked down sadly. "What kind of person could do something like that?" He said, his hand curling into a fist. 

"Someone very bad." She said looking down. "He will get caught, Harry. I'm sure of it. He will get what he deserves." He nodded still looking a bit bummed out. "What about the other letter? Do you think it will have something of interest there?" The brunette questioned. 

"I don't think I want to read a love letter addressed to the man who was responsible for my parents' deaths." Cassi laughed lightly. 

"I'll check it out and tell you if there's anything you should know." Cassi assured him. "Let's head back to the great hall and meet the others." Harry agreed. The two of them got up and walked together to where their friends were. 

*** 

Cassi let out a big exasperated sigh as she reviewed her Transfiguration notes one more time. She had been procrastinating studying this particular subject because she just wasn't good at it. It didn't came naturally to her like potions or charms. She tried the Vanishment spell one more time but alas, nothing happened. Again. She groaned in frustration closing her books angrily. George looked at her and tried not to laugh. Instead of actually studying he was making a list of his ideas for pranks. The two teens had arranged to study together, ever since the twins had received a howler from their mother because of their poor grades. George agreed to at least try to do better, unlike Fred who just laughed in Cassi's face. 

"Fucking hell." Cassi complained. "Why can't I do it?" She pouted. 

"You're being too hard on yourself. That's one of the hardest spells to be tested on the OWL's. Why don't you take a break?" He suggested with a sympathetic smile. 

"I don't want to be just good at things. I want to be great." She explained."However, I despise Transfiguration. I should probably have started studying sooner." The girl whined. 

"So basically, you're an overachiever with procrastination problems." He pointed out. 

"Gee thanks a lot, George." He laughed. Suddenly he was on his feet gathering his things to leave. "Where are you going?" 

"The right question is: were are we going?" He said winking at her. "Let's take a break, love. I'm going to take you to my favourite place in the school." She reluctantly put her stuff away as well. He walked in front of her, looking back once in a while to see if she was still following him. She realized half way through he was taking her to the Quidditch pitch, which was empty at that time. "Have you ever played?" He questioned and she nodded. "Don't worry, I'll teach you." He winked and ran to grab some brooms and some equipment. "I play as a beater, along with Fred. We have these bad boys." He held a bat on his hand; the veins of his arm flexed as he held it up. Cassi licked her lips unconsciously. "Given your stature and body type I would say you could play as a Chaser." 

"Been thinking a lot about my body type, have you?" She teased. George's face turned pink with her comment but he still tried to remain unfazed. 

"Wanna go up and try some moves?" George asked pointing at the broom next to her. Cassi swallowed hard. "Don't tell me you're scared of flying." Now it was her face that turned pink. "Holy shit! You are scared!" 

"If you're going to make fun of me I'm gonna leave, Weasley." The brunette crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. 

"Sorry sorry." He laughed. "In that case let's try something else. Mount the broom." She did as she was told. George went behind her and mounted her broom as well. She shifted embarrassed, feeling his body pressing against her behind. His two long arms grabbed the broomstick's handle right where her hands were. "Do you trust me?" He spoke in her ear. She nodded and swallowed hard, bracing herself for what was about to come. The two teens began taking off slowly, she was breathing rather deeply, trying to control her anxiety. "Relax, love. You're safe with me." She allowed herself to ease up a bit. From up there they had a pretty great view of their surroundings. 

"It's not so bad, after all." She commented. She heard George chuckle as he tighten his grip around the handle. 

"Let's fly around for a bit." He suggested. She was holding onto the broom so tight her knuckles were turning white. As they spun and flew around, her anxiety began fading and she was enjoying the feeling of being high up in the sky. "You're controlling the broomstick now, do you realize that?" 

"I wasn't aware." She laughed and made them fly around a bit faster. "Can we go down now, please?" She said feeling her palms sweaty and a bit nauseated from so much spinning. George made them land softly and dismounted the broom. 

"How was it?" The ginger questioned. 

"Brilliant. Thank you, George." She beamed at him. Without thinking she stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. Realizing what she had done she quickly pulled away. 

"I take that you're feeling better?" He smirked and she looked away in embarrassment. He laughed and gave her a pat on the head. "Let's make this a habit. What do you say, Reynard?" He suggested and she agreed.


	8. Shrieking Shack

"That was horrible." Marley stated as she and Cassi were walking inside after the Quidditch final. "I can't believe they resorted to cheating. No wonder we never win." The blond complained. Although the two girls weren't exactly surprised at the outcome, they were certainly very disappointed. 

"I feel bad for Adrian." Cassi commented. He was probably one of the few players on the team who never cheated. He was certainly a very talented player, but the rest of the team ended up giving him a very bad reputation. "Adrian is an incredible player, but with a team like this..." She trailed off as she watched the Slytherin players walking by them. Adrian gave the two girls a small smile as he passed by. "It seems like he heard us." The taller female chuckled. 

"Well, he's kinda cute." Marley giggled. Cassi gave her an awkward exaggerated laugh and rubbed the back of her neck. Marley furrowed her eyebrows wondering why her friend was acting so strange, however before she would ask, she was cut off.

"Who is kinda cute?" Fred said as he ran up along with George to catch up with them. Both boys were still in their Quidditch uniforms, their hair as messy as it could be. Sweat stained their shirts and both had a few cuts and bruises on their faces.

"Adrian Pucey." The blond teen explained with a grin on her face. Fred and George pulled a face, as they both saw him as just like the rest of his teammates. "He's actually nice, unlike the rest of those knuckleheads." She explained. 

"Whatever." Fred rolled his eyes. "Even if he is cute, you guys still lost." He smirked triumphantly. 

"Aw he thinks we were expecting to win. How adorable." Cassi said sarcastically making the group laugh. George seemed to be in deep thought as he played with his sleeves. His red hair was messy and his skin glisten with sweat. It was only when his eyes met Cassi's that she realized she had been staring. She looked away embarrassed, not knowing why she was paying so much attention to the boy. "A-anyway. As much as I love to chat with you lot, I'm going to head to the library to study. " Marley rolled her eyes. 

"Seriously? Come on Cassi let's hang out for a bit." She pleaded. "Even though we lost, we can still celebrate with Fred, George and Lee." She suggested. Cassi did want to spend more time with everyone, but she was also very focused on her OWLs,

"Yeah, we know a place where we stay past curfew without getting caught." Fred said mischievously. 

"And we have a secret stash for occasions like this." George whispered leaning in toward the girls. "Come on Cass, let's have a good time." She bit her lip not knowing how to respond. Her three friends were now looking at her with puppy dog eyes. She rolled her eyes as she finally ended up giving in. "Meet us near The Fat Lady at eleven o'clock." He told them before running off with Fred. 

"Oh, this is going to be so good." Marley winked at her. 

***

Cassi was waiting for her friend on the Slytherin common room. There was no one walking around at that time, so she was completely alone as she waited for Marley to show up. She ran her hands through her hair, trying to fix it. Lately, she was a bit more concerned with her appearance than usual. The brunette felt her face heat up when she considered the reason for her sudden desire to look good. Still she tried to keep those thoughts away for the time being it was something she needed to think long and hard about. She heard steps behind her, which made her turn around to look at the newcomer. She was met with Marley's sweet smile. 

"Ready?" The blond asked quietly. Cassi nodded and gestured to the exit of the common room. The twins had given them instructions to get to the portrait of The Fat Lady. The only problem was to not get caught. The two girls cast Lumos and made their way through the darkness. Marley was leading the way while Cassi was looking out for any professors. If there was anyone walking around, they would really have to make a run for it. Thankfully, they managed to get to their destination without any problems. The twins along with Lee were already waiting for them. 

"Evening ladies." Lee greeted. "Are you ready for the best night of your lives?" The group tried their best not to laugh. "Okay, that sounded wrong." He pointed out. The two girls giggled. 

"Where are you taking us, anyway?" Cassi questioned, earning a smirk from the three boys. The three of them were wearing their casual clothes rather than their uniforms; just like Marley and herself. Suddenly, the brunette felt very self-conscious and her cheeks turned pink. She didn't have any other clean jumpers besides the one George had let her borrow back at The Burrow. She meant to give it back but ended up forgetting she even had it. The weather was warmer but they nights were still cold, so she just put in on without even thinking.

Fred gestured for them to start walking, after checking if the coast was clear. The four of them sneaked outside to the Whomping Willow. She raised an eyebrow at Fred, who gave her a wink before muttering 'immobulus', flickering his wand carefully. The tree stopped moving and they walked to a small entrance near a bunch of roots. Lee gestured for the girls to get in and they hesitantly obliged. Cassi felt the ground disappearing beneath her feet as she let herself slide down to a dark hole. She heard Marley starting to slide down right after her. The two girls crashed into each other with a loud thud. They laughed as they heard the boys going down as well. 

"Where are we?" Marley asked looking around. Fred guided them through the dark tunnel, until they arrived at a familiar looking house. "You brought us to the Shrieking Shack?" The floor creaked beneath their feet, making a rather weird sound. Marley locked arms with Cassi as she heard what sounded like footsteps coming from another room. "This is so creepy." She shivered. 

"You are not going soft on us are you, Peterson?" Lee teased as he and Fred carried some blankets and a big bag to one of the divisions. They settled the blankets on the floor and began taking out some candles and bottles of firewhisky from the bag.

"How did you find this passage? And that spell to stop the tree?" Cassi asked them confused. 

"We saw it on the Marauder's Map quite recently." George explained. "As weird as it sounds, we think Lupin gave us a clue about it one day after class. I wonder why..." He trailed off. Cassi loved Lupin and his classes, however she had to admit he was quite the character. He would disappear for weeks on end and he had the habit of deflecting certain questions. Despise his kindness, she felt like he had something about him that he really didn’t want anyone to find out. This secret he held didn’t make the girl uncomfortable at all, though. She had tea with him a few times and he told her a great deal about her mother. Overall, she just thought he was kind but troubled individual and she wished he would get better as soon as possible.

After all the candles were lit and the blankets settled, the five teens sat down on a circle. Cassi sat down next to George, almost in the exact same way the two of them had sat down in the beginning of the year when they were planning to pull that silly prank. The ginger smiled down at her warmly. He couldn't help but to look at how his jumper fit her, his cheeks heating up slightly. He wasn't usually like this toward any girl and he didn't quite understand why Cassi made him act like a total fool. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts away.

"Now what?" Cassi questioned looking at the group. The three boys looked at each other and grabbed the bottles. George gave everyone a cup and made sure everyone was served. 

"Now we get shit faced." Lee winked as he took a sip. Cassi crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Marley.

“What?” The blond girl questioned raising an eyebrow at her friend.

“Absolutely-fucking-not.” Cassi stated extending a hand to her, waiting for the girl to give her the cup back. “You are a literally twelve.”

“For fuck’s sake, Cassi. I’m fourteen.” She retorted feeling annoyed. The brunette seemed like she would not change her mind, so the younger girl reluctantly gave her the cup.

"Let's play some games." Lee suggested. "How about Truth or dare?".

"Why don't we make things a bit more interesting, though." Fred suggested with a wink. He held up a small bottle with a clear liquid. It was a small portion of the veritaserum she had given them for Christmas. 

"This is where you choose to use it? Come on, mate." George complained. 

"Don't worry we have more back in our form and we only need a few drops." The shorter twin explained. The rest of the group looked at each other and they all seemed to agree to Fred's little twist of the game. "Who wants to go first?"

The game started with Marley going first and daring Fred to finish his whole cup in one go, which was easy. As the game progressed and the teens got increasingly more intoxicated things started to get messier. Cassi was resting her head on George's shoulder a bit on a drunken haze. She felt a burning sensation as she swallowed the firewhisky and a sense of courage grew inside her chest. George laughed loudly as he took a few drops of veritaserum. Marley had asked him about his most embarrassing moment, which he didn't want to answer at first. 

"This happened last year over the summer. Fred and I decided to sneak out of The Burrow and fly across London on our broomsticks. Unfortunately, we had a bit of an accident involving a tree, so we ended up crashing onto this big muggle house. We fell through the ceiling on an interior pool. Yours truly decided it was a great idea to take off all my clothes to perform a drying spell-" He cut himself off trying not to burst into laughter. "-Then out of nowhere this muggle girl showed up and just stared at my- _you know_..." Lee was hysterical at this point, grabbing his stomach and crying form laughing so hard. "Then to make matters worse, our dearest mum had followed us there. So, there I was butt naked in front of a girl and my mum; while Freddie over there, was just calmly swimming in the pool." Fred chuckled. 

"After that we weren't allowed to leave the house until the end of summer." He told his friends. "George was not allowed to be in any close proximity to any girl for a while." The teen cracked up once again. "Alright, I believe it's Cassi's turn." 

"Cassiopeia Reynard, truth or dare?" George asked her with a smirk. 

"Truth." She said drunkenly. The boys complained that they had such good dare ideas for her. Marley however seemed to be thinking quite hard about something. 

"Oh George, ask her about Adrian Pucey." The blond exclaimed making the three Gryffindors look at each other in confusion. "I wanna know why she acts so weird around him." 

"Oh, my Merlin, Marley." She threw an unused plastic cup in her direction. “There is no story and I do not act weird around him." 

"Well now we wanna know about Pucey." Fred said handing the flask with the clear liquid to George. She knew they wouldn't drop the subject, so she decided to comply. She held her mouth open and stuck her tongue out, as she waited for George to give the veritaserum to her. He blushed slightly at her actions and let two small drops fall on the tongue. "Go on, love. Tell us about him." 

"It happened last year when Slytherin won a particularly difficult game against Ravenclaw. I think Marley might remember the party we had after the game to celebrate that victory." The girl nodded. " Well, it was my first-time drinking as well as Adrian's so you can imagine how wasted we actually got." She tried to fight the serum but to no avail. "So, we ended up snogging." She finally admitted. Lee and Marley gasped dramatically. "But it was only one time and we never spoke about it ever again." 

"Oh, my Salazar." Marley said. "And you never told me about this, you dickhead." She said drunkenly. "Was it bad? Is that why you never told me?" She asked her bursting into laughter again. She rolled her eyes and didn't answer, instead she requested they changed the subject. George could feel a little jealousy forming inside him. What was so great about Adrian Pucey anyway?

The game continued, this time a bit spicier. The lot seemed to be enjoying finding out about each other's darkest secrets, as well as finding out how far everyone would go. In one dare, Lee and Marley had to switch jumpers, and in another Fred had to do a little striptease for his friends, which of course, he couldn't take seriously. Cassi was once again leaning on George and this time he was leaning a bit on her as well. The rest of the group had also noticed how cosy they were getting with each other. 

"Weasley number 2." Marley exclaimed. "Truth or dare?" He chose dare and that was exactly what she was hoping for. "Feeling adventures, are we?" She smirked at him. "I dare you to kiss Cassi. Not just a little peck, it has to be a proper kiss." Suddenly George felt very much sober, his heart pounded on his rib cage and his palms started to get sweaty. He looked at Cassi to see if she was just as surprise as he was, which she was. 

"C-can I?" He asked for her consent. She stared at him for a moment. He was incredibly handsome. His hair, his face, his freckles, and his gentle smile seemed so inviting. She nodded slowly giving him permission to do the dare. He moved his hand to the side of her face and leaned in. His lips were tender and gentle, moving against hers painfully slow; she wanted a bit more. As if he had read her mind his tongue touched her bottom lip asking for entrance. Their tongues danced together for a while until they had to stop to catch their breath. The rest of their friend howled excitedly at what they had just witnessed. Cassi couldn't even find the right words to describe how that kiss felt. Her cheeks had turned completely red, much like George's. He was also quite embarrassed as he didn't expect to get so into it. 

"That's so weird." Fred said stumbling upon his words, due to the alcohol. "It's like seeing myself kissing Cassi. I don't know if I like that." 

" _Excuse me_ , Fredrick Weasley. You wish you could kiss me for real. I would rock your world." She told him and they both laughed.

The group decided to stay the night on the Shrieking Shack because it would be very hard to sneak back into the castle without being seen. They had blankets to everyone but still decided to huddle together for warmth. Cassi was already listening to her friend's soft snores, but she couldn't sleep, she could almost still feel George's lips on her own. She touched her lips with the tips of her fingers, her cheeks incredibly red. The fact that he was sleeping so close to her was not helping at all. George was definitely not sleeping like Cassi assumed he was. He was in a similar state, still in a daze thinking about the kiss they shared. How soft her lips felt on his and how they moved so in sync. He had already thought about kissing her but tonight he had his expectations completely blown away. Although he had so many thoughts racing through his mind, George ended up falling asleep. 

Cassi felt herself drowsy, her vision getting cloudier and her eyelids heavy. As she was closing her eyes, she heard steps near the door of the room they were staying in. It was hard to understand if she was actually hearing steps or if the alcohol was getting to her. She assumed it was the later because the last thing she saw was Sirius Black and Hermione's cat. 


	9. Sirius Black

The June sky blazed blue and the sun shone bright yellow. The trees swayed with the summer breeze and everywhere are the flowers were already in full bloom. Despite the beauty settling in outside, Cassi would spend most of her time in the library. She had been incredibly stressed with her OWLs so she could barely spend any time with the twins and Lee. She was partly grateful she wasn't seeing them as much. She couldn't take her mind off what happened that night on the Shrieking Shack, for two reasons; the first being the kiss with George. She hadn't thought about him in that way until that point. They had kissed but Lee had also kissed Fred and it was no problem. It seemed quite clear she was starting to have a small crush on the boy. This realization got her in a panic, as she had never gotten a crush on anyone before. Cassi was the type of girl who would focus more on her studies rather than boys (or girls). Having feelings for someone seemed like a distraction she could not afford to have. Besides that, the probability of it ending badly was quite high. She stayed away from relationships for about five years and she wanted to keep it that way. However, there was something about him that almost made her forget about all of this and she couldn't help but let her mind wonder in an enamored daze.

Besides George, she had also been thinking quite a lot about her dream about Sirius Black and Hermione's cat. It felt so real she wondered sometimes if it had been in fact a dream. Cassi had also considered the possibility of it been some sort of prediction, however it was unlikely. The most plausible scenario would be that she was dreaming about Sirius because she had found out about his relationship with his mother. 

As the days passed she had to force herself to push all those thoughts away and focus. She felt confident about her performance on most of her exams. However, as she got out of the Transfiguration OWL she felt a huge sense of dread. On one hand she had studied immensely, on the other Mcgonagall didn't exactly made things easy for anyone. She hoped McGonagall felt sorry for her. Cassi made a mental note to try extra hard on that class on the following year. She hoped she could show McGonagall she could do better. 

"That was awful." Lee commented as he joined her on the corridor. He complained loudly, as he expected to do better. "I feel like she crushed all my hopes and dreams." The pale girl couldn't help to chuckle a little. Fred and George joined them as well but the two boys seemed much more relaxed then them. 

"Can you two stop whining?" Fred said placing his hand on his pockets in a relaxed manner. "What's done is done." Lee rolled his eyes at Fred. 

"That's just shit advice, Fred." Lee retorted. "Anyway, I really need to eat something to feel better about myself. Who wants to join?" Everyone seemed to think it was a good idea, so they ended up walking to the kitchens. When everyone had their snacks they decided to seat down on the grass near the castle grounds. As Cassi's friends were talking to each other she felt her thoughts wondering back to her dream, something about it made her feel very weird. "...Right, Cassi? Hello! Earth to Cassi!" 

"I'm sorry. What?" The brunette's head shot up staring at the three boys. They all looked at her with concern. 

"You okay, Cass?" George asked.

"Yeah..." The girl assured him with a weak smile. "I just have a lot on my mind. I had a weird dream a while ago and I don't know why it makes me feel weird when I think about it." 

"What do you mean you feel weird about? Like, you feel weird as in it scared you or you feel tingly down there." Fred joked, earning a punch from Cassi on his arm. 

"It just makes me feel like something bad is going to happen. " The slytherin girl explained. She thought about what she had seen again. How Sirius Black, a notorious killer, had looked at her with such tender yes despite his grotesque appearance and how Crookshanks looked so calm on his arms. Suddenly, she remembered she had an unopened letter on her dorm addressed to Black himself. "I just remembered I have to check something. I'll meet you guys later." She got up and waved her friends goodbye. 

Cassi felt her heart pound as she ran through the corridors, she couldn't believe she had forgotten about it. Even though she was in a rush, she decided to keep it cool around her fellow Slytherins; she didn't know what to expect from that letter and it was best not to draw any attention to herself if she wanted to read it in peace. As she got to her dorm she felt a great sense of relief when she found it empty. The brunette pulled a little brown box from under her bed and undid a concealment charm she had placed there for protection. She anxiously roamed through the box until she found what she was looking for. She sat down on the floor as she tore the envelop open. 

**Dear Sirius,**

**I debated with myself if I should tell you or not the real reason why I ran away in such a cowardly manner, while all of you are back at England fighting in the war against the dark lord. Honestly, no one would let me fight once they knew about my condition. I was pregnant with a baby girl. Donna's friend Marco has helped me through the pregnancy and the baby is safe and sound with me. Donna is the only one who knows about her and she pushed me to keep it a secret in order not to draw any attention to myself. In all honestly, I was actually scared to tell you about her because you are in fact the father. I know you would love her with all your heart, it's not the rejection I was scared of. I was afraid you would come running to us, while you have your duties in The Order. I'm so sorry to keep this from you. I cannot tell you how much it pained me to do what I did but I couldn't be selfish and put other people's lives in danger. I didn't intend on staying so long here but as you know transportation is a bit messy these days and I don't want to put our daughter at risk. However, I believe the war will end soon and we can all be together as a family after. I wish I could have told you in person and hold you in my arms once again. I miss you terribly, my love.**

**Yours forever,**

**Yennefer Reynard.**

Cassi felt tears streaming down her face and her head was spinning. She looked at the letter again to check if she hadn't read it wrong. A pit formed in her stomach as she realized she was the daughter of an actual mass murderer. Her mother never sent this letter because he had been arrested shortly after for working with Voldemort. Her mind wondered to Harry's parents too. She felt revolted that someone who had done something that horrible was actually related to her. At this point she was a crying and hyperventilating mess. How was she going to tell him the truth? She heard a faint voice calling out to her. 

"Cassi?!" Marley called her name in panic. She tried to call her down but she couldn't do anything other than hold her and hush her."It's okay. I'm here." She said gently and the girl's rapid breathing was replaced by soft sobs. 

"Please, Marley. Call George, I need to tell him." She told her still crying a lot. The blond girl ran outside for a moment, Cassi assumed to look for the boy. As she waited on her bedroom floor she was able to calm herself down. She held the folded letter tightly in her hands not being able to look at what her mother had written anymore. After a while Marley came back. "Come on, he's waiting outside." After wiping her tears she let her friend guide her outside. George stood there, eyebrows furrowed in concern. He had the habit of running his hand through his hair when he was nervous and this time was no different.

"Cass!" He called her, rushing over to her side. "What happened?" The short girl nodded her head furiously and he understood it was better to find a quiet place to talk. He gave Marley a reassuring look and the girl left them alone. He gently took her hand and took her to Myrtle's bathroom. The two teens both sat down on the floor close to each other."Cass..." He whispered moving a strand of hair from her face. "You're safe now. I'm here with you." 

"It's horrible, Georgie. I don't know what to think or do." She said in a panicked voice. The boy noticed the crumbled up letter in her closed fist.

"Can you tell me about it? Or show me?" He questioned looking at the paper on her hand. She gave it to him with shaky hands. He planted a kiss on her forehead and held her hand and took the paper from her. His eyes scanned the written content as Cassi bit her nails, waiting for him to finish."Wow, I-" 

"I know." She said wiping her tears away. "What am I going to tell Harry? Sirius murdered people and I'm his child..." She gripped George's hand tightly. "What if I turn out to be like him?" 

"Hey, don't say that. He's a very bad man and you're-" He trailed off looking at her. Her eyes were puffy and red but still he thought she was beautiful. "You're amazing." He smiled softly. "Harry will understand that you don't choose your family. I mean have you met his uncle and aunt?" He pointed out jokingly. "And that awful cousin of his ugh... Don't get me started on that little pig." She couldn't help but to chuckle. "That's more like it." 

"Thank you, George." Cassi pulled him into a hug. 

"Anytime, love." 

*** 

Marley quietly read the letter Cassi had given her and Cassi anxiously waited for her to say something. The blond girl placed the paper on her lap and let out an exasperated smile. At that point the taller female was expecting the worse, it was a lot of information to take in; she wasn't expecting her to take it well. The girl turned to her with a blank expression. 

"Well fuck." Marley finally said. "At least your father is not You-Know-Who." She joked making Cassi laugh lightly. 

"Sirius Black is my father and that's all you have to say?" The brunette chuckled and Marley shrugged. "You're incredible, Marley Peterson." She looked at her with a smug look, as if she was saying 'Of course I am incredible'. "Now I have to figure out how I'm going to tell Harry." 

"You know, there's no rush. You should process this first." She pointed out. Ever since she had met Marley on her first year she had been incredibly supportive to her. She knew all about her nightmares and often would offer help. She was lucky she had a friend like her beside her through the good and the bad. Especially the bad. "Wait what about Marcus? Donna said he was your father."

"I guess she lied. Honestly I feel like I barely know her. " Cassi admitted. "I never see her anymore and it seems like she hid so much from me." The girl was now close to tears again. She felt incredibly overwhelmed with everything that was going on in her life and she didn't feel like she had any support from her godmother. of course, she understood Donna's job required her to be away for long periods of time but understanding it didn't make anything easier. Most of the time she had her friends at school but once it was over she would have to go back to that horrid empty flat for most of the summer. 

"You should write her and tell her how you feel, as well as demanding answers. You deserve that." Marley was right, however she didn't think it would make much of a difference. Donna couldn't exactly take some vacations whenever she wanted and even when she could have a break she had piles and piles of documents to go through. "Just try to sound more aggressive, usually that works for me." Cassi couldn't help but to chuckle. 

"Thank you for supporting me, Marls." The two girls shared an embrace. 

*** 

Once again Cassiopeia was tossing and turning on her bed, unable to sleep at all. It wasn't very late but the students were asked to go to their dorms early. She threw her covers aside and put on her boots. She wasn't going to stay there just staring at the ceiling, completely alone with her thoughts. She grabbed her mother's letter and stared at it again, perhaps it would be better to find a way to hide it before someone found it.

She couldn't help but to look at the neat handwriting on the paper. Cassi wondered if her mother's handwriting had always been this pretty or if she also had a ugly handwriting phase, just as she had when she was younger. There was so much about her she didn't know and so much she no longer remember. It seemed cruel that Donna and Charlie had so much time with her and Cassi herself so little. She took deep breath and directed her attention to the stars above her.

The sky was pure black splattered with shiny stars, lighting up the sky like little lamps. The nocturnal breeze indicated that hot days would be coming quite soon. Cassi sneaked to the top of the West Tower to take a closer look at the moon. The moon was beautiful and full, decorating the night sky with it's breath taking glow. She smiled softly to herself, feeling her stress fade just a little bit. Her peace was interrupted rather quickly, though. She suddenly heard people coming in her direction. Her mouth fell completely agape at the sight of Harry, Hermione and Sirius Black. Before she could say anything, Hermione ran to her and covered her mouth. 

"Please Cassi, don't scream." The girl pleaded. "W-we can explain." Cassi felt her heart pound in her chest as she felt the man's eyes on her. "I'm going to take my hand away now. Please don't scream." As much as she wanted to scream, she trusted that Hermione would tell her the truth. "He's innocent, we don't have time to explain but you have to trust us." She stared at Harry looking right to his eyes. He nodded at her, signaling her that his friend was telling the truth. 

"You look so much like her." Sirius said with teary eyes. "My Yen. I miss her so much." He suddenly looked incredibly sad. "I never knew she had a child, I was only told when she was killed." His hands curled into a fist. 

"I... You..."She struggled to find words. "I found this letter, she was supposed to send it to you but I'm guessing you got arrested shortly after she wrote it. I'm sorry." Cassi extended the letter to him and he looked at her confused. "Just, write me after you read it. If it's possible." The girl felt her eyes watering again. Just in one day she had found out the truth about her father and she met him in person. The hypogriff he had next to him seemed to get a bit restless and he knew he had to leave soon. Hermione told them exactly that as well. 

"What's your name?" Sirius questioned holding the letter close to his chest. 

"Cassiopeia." His eyes lit up, as if he had figured out what the content of the letter was. He smiled at her, overwhelmed as well. He broke eye contact with her and spoke to Harry and Hermione for a brief moment. He said his goodbyes and mounted the hypogriff. He was gone in a blink of an eye, soaring through the dark sky. Hermione and Harry were also in a hurry so they promised each other they would talk about the letter the next day. Cassi sneaked back to her dorm right after. She felt like she was in a dream, a million things were going through her mind. A great sense of joy washed over her and she cried. She had a father.


	10. Confrontation

Cassi waited for the twins, Lee and Marley outside the school so they could go catch the train back to King's Cross Station. That year had been quite an odd year for Cassiopeia Reynard. She made three new friends and found out about her father, actually meeting him unexpectedly by the end of the year. She hoped her sixth year was going to be a lot more quiet, although with the twins as her friend that was probably very unlikely. 

The five of them got inside the train and sat on an empty cabin just talking about random things. She had decided not to speak about Sirius to all of them. Partly because she hadn't processed everything yet but also because she wasn't sure if she wanted many people knowing about it. It would maybe draw attention from the ministry of magic.

Now that everything was over she had some time to think about George and her crush on him. He never mentioned the kiss from that night again and maybe it was for the best; silence was better than rejection. Besides that, she had so many things going on in her life that it was quite hard to have time for a relationship, or in this case a crush. 

The trip back to King's Cross Station was quite and painfully long. Saying goodbye to her friends was sad even if she would only be away from them for a few months. The four friends grabbed their things and exited the train once it had stopped. Lee and Marley said goodbye to Cassi and the twins and left to meet their parents. The girl walked with the two boys to where their family was waiting for them to also say goodbye to Molly and Arthur Weasley. 

"Any ideas where you'll go over the summer, Reynard?" Fred questioned. Cassi would probably be alone on her godmother's flat for most of it but she didn't want to tell him that. She felt quite uncomfortable talking about her relationship with Donna.

"Oh I'm going here and there, you know." Cassi said, being as vague as she possibly could. Fred and George laughed at her, knowing she probably didn't have plans at all. "I'm serious, I'm going to be very busy this summer." She was not. 

"Right." George smirked at her. "Well if you happen to have any free time, feel free to visit us at The Burrow. You can show up at any time as long as you write to us a couple of days before." He explained. She smiled and gave them both a hug. Cassi waved them goodbye and began searching for Donna in the crowd, expecting not to find her at all. It was typical of her saying she would pick her up but then never show up. 

"Cassi." She heard a familiar voice behind her. Harry stood there with a half smile on his face, seemingly a bit unsure of what he would say next. The two teens haven't had a chance to talk about everything that had happened with Sirius. The girl calmly explained all about the letter and how most of what she knew about her family was in fact a lie. Harry also told her everything he had found out about Peter Pettigrew and Sirius's innocence. Things were a bit overwhelming at the moment for the both of them, so they stood next to each other in silence for a couple of minutes, taking everything in. Cassi felt Harry shift next to her uncomfortably, so she looked at him with furrowed brows. "I uh just... with all of this..." He paused trying to find words. "I know we aren't related in any way but since Sirius is my godfather..." A wide smile spread across her lips once she figure out what his point was. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you and him are kind of like my family now." 

"That's sweet of you to say, Harry." She pulled him into a quick hug."If you need anything over the summer you can always write me. I'll come and get you anytime." He blushed slightly and thanked her. Soon he had to leave with his muggle aunt and uncle, leaving Cassi to her own devices. She sighed in frustration, sure that her godmother wouldn't show up. 

"Cassiopeia." Finally she saw Donna looking directly at her. She extended her arms to her but Cassi did not take the hug. "I'm sorry if I was a bit late." The two stared at each other in silence before Donna grabbed her bags and extended her hand to Cassi so they could apparate to their flat. Once they were home, the tension seemed to be even more evident. "Cassiopeia, what's wrong?" 

"When were you going to tell me?" The black haired woman stared at her in confusion. "Or maybe you were counting on never telling me." Charlie had joined them in the living room. The dark skinned woman looked at the two of them with concern, she had never seen them have a big fight before; with the tone Cassi was speaking she was sure it would turn into a big fight. "Answer me." She demanded. She wasn't shouting but anyone could feel the hostility on her voice. "Were you ever going to tell me the truth about my father?" Donna closed her eyes, regret washing over her. 

"How did you find out?" The woman asked her in a low voice. 

"Does it matter?" The teen spat. She felt the anger building up on her chest and she understood it was time to tell her about her feelings. "You drop me off at Hogwarts, barely even write me..." 

"That's not fair. You know I have work to-"

"...And now you also lie to me." The girl felt tears forming in her eyes and Charlie rushed to her side. "We're supposed to be a family and yet it's like I don't even know you." Donna looked at her in shock. "I understand you're busy most of the time but answer me this: when was the last time you spent my birthday with me?" 

"Darling, we are so sorry." Charlie said touching her face lightly. "We should be here for you more often." Still her guardian said nothing. "We are here now to listen, love." She spoke softly, genuinely concerned about the matter at hand. 

"You understand that your father is a mass murderer, right?" The other woman spoke as she sat down on the couch. "We were going to bring you back to England and tell him about you being his child but then he got arrested. It was a big mess, your mother was devastated. She told me we were supposed to wait until you were ready to know..." Donna swallowed hard. "And then next thing I knew, she was dead. After that, it seemed like it was never the right time to tell you and I must confess I didn't count on you finding out on your own." 

"He's innocent." Cassi said crossing her arms over her chest. Donna's head shot up in surprise. "Harry said-"

"Harry Potter?! You know how much trouble that boy is?" She suddenly became very angry. "People at the ministry talk about how much trouble he gets himself into. I guess it's no surprise he would try to defend a convicted felon." 

"Don't talk about Harry like that!" The teen yelled. "He and I know the truth about Sirius and soon everyone else will know too!" She felt hot tears streaming down her face as she spoke. She couldn't tell her guardian everything that had happened that year and why she was so sure the man she barely even knew was not guilty of what he had been accused of. Donna pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Cassi looked down at her mood ring, staring at the shade of black that had appeared. Suddenly she missed George terribly. 

"I believe in you, Cassi." Charlie gave her an encouraging smile and she felt her tension ease up a bit. "I'm sure if Sirius is still the same knucklehead that I met in Hogwarts he will find proof of his innocence." She planted a kiss on her forehead. 

"You may believe her but I don't. There were eye witnesses of the crime." Donna explained. "Cassiopeia I don't want you contacting that man." She seemed to be still angry with the whole situation, however she spoke in a much more calm tone. The three stayed in awkward silence for a few minutes before the woman decided to speak again. "I have to get back to the ministry." Cassi rolled her eyes. 

"Of fucking course." She grabbed her bags and placed them near the fireplace they had in their living room. She grabbed a handful of floo powder, making the two woman take a few hurried steps toward her. 

"Where are you going?" Donna asked feeling both angry and worried.

"A place where I'm actually treated like I'm part of the family." The teen spat. 

"Please, darling." Charlie called out after her. "Let's just talk about this." 

"I'm sorry, Charlie." Cassi told her giving her a weak smile. "The Burrow!" She yelled and suddenly she was engulfed by green flames. The world seemed to disappear right beneath her feel and she felt tumble forward as she landed. Molly looked over in shock and quickly ran up to the girl.

"Oh my Merlin!" The woman exclaimed as she helped her up. "Are you okay darling?" She tried her best to wipe the cinders off of Cassi. Suddenly the girl burst into tears. The ginger wrapped her arms around her and rubbed her back softly. "It's okay, sweetheart. You're with us now." 

***

After Cassi had calmed down, Molly took her upstairs so she would get herself cleaned up. Ginny was ecstatic when she realized the slytherin girl was at The Burrow, offering to share her room in case the girl decided to stay for a while. The twins, Ron and Arthur had left for a couple of hours to clean the broom shed, which was a shame since she was hoping to see Fred and George; they always cheered her up. Molly suggested her to take a long and hot bath to calm her nerves and so she left her alone in the bathroom.

Cassi let the water run for a while to fill in the tub and stripped. Mrs Weasley had told her to use some products she had, so she could have a nice bubble bath. Unlike muggle products, wizarding bath salts would actually change colours according to your needs. If one was stressed the bubbles would turn light pink, if one was sore or hurt they would turn purple; just to name a few. She laid down on the tub and watched as the bubbles turned pink. The product also had magical healing properties, so she almost instantly felt like her whole body was lighter. 

The girl felt terrible for leaving Charlie behind. The woman seemed to be much more wiling to work through their issues than Donna. Donna. How could she had dismissed her feelings so easily? This was a very serious matter, in Cassi's opinion. It's not like she lied about eating the last slice of cake, she had lied about who her father for all of her life. However, the girl knew her problems with her guardian went way beyond just that issue. They had grown distant and cold. She didn't felt like she was at home or that she was part of the family. For a while, Cassi had been feeling like an intruder in Charlie and Donna's life. Maybe it was best if she found her own place to live. The girl closed her eyes, feeling the hot water covering her body and the steam settling around her. Suddenly the door shot open. George Weasley stared back at her completely shocked. 

"Fuck!" He cursed. "What the bloody hell are you doing?" He questioned turning away his face, his cheeks glowing red. She was really glad the bubbles were covering her entire body. 

"I'm showering. What does it look like I'm doing?" She said sarcastically, trying to defuse the tension. 

"I mean why are you showering in my house?" He questioned still with his back turned to her. He heard the water splashing behind him and assumed she had gotten up. His whole body tensed up. Cassi wrapped a towel behind her body and tapped his shoulder letting him know he was allowed to look. Still, George didn't budge.

"I had a fight with Donna...I'm sorry didn't know where else to go." She said sadly. He couldn't help but to feel bad for her. 

"I'm glad you see our house as a safe space." He told her, making the girl smile. "G-get dressed and you can tell me more about it." With that he left the bathroom. "And lock the bloody door!" She heard him yell from the other side of the door.

***

Cassi had her bags at The Burrow so she had clean clothes to change into. She put on a black t-shirt with a muggle band's logo right at the centre, a pair of blue jeans and some black trainers. She put her hair up in a high ponytail and put back on the several earrings she had. Fred and George were waiting for her near the now unlit fireplace. Fred ran up to her smiling brightly. 

"It's not that I'm not happy to see you but what are you doing here?" The boy asked. Cassi sat down with the tow of them in the living room and explained to them what had happened. However, she left out the part about Sirius being her father, that was a conversation for another day. Fred gave her a small pat on the back trying to cheer her up. George also tried doing just that by giving her a reassuring smile. Her heart skipped a beat when he did that. It was starting to get harder to push thoughts bout George away from her mind. "So are you going to stay long?" The older twin questioned. 

"I suppose not. I don't know yet." She shrugged. "I just need to cool off for a while and I don't want to be a burden to your parents." 

"Nonsense!" She heard Molly Weasley yelling from the kitchen. The older woman came to meet them in the living room and gave Cassi a big bright smile. "You are not a burden at all. Stay as long as you like." Still the girl felt terrible because now they had one more mouth to feed because of her. An idea popped into her mind. 

"Mrs Weasley, I would like to cook dinner for everyone tonight." She said with a smile. 

"Oh darling, please call me Molly." The woman beamed at her. "That would be so nice, Cassi." Molly grabbed her hands affectionately. 

"I'll use the floo powder to get some things for dinner. You boys want to come with me?" She turned to the twins. They looked at each other for a few second and then shrugged, getting up and standing right next to her. The three teens got in the fireplace. An idea popped into Cassi's head. "The leaky Cauldron!" The girl exclaimed and suddenly green flames engulfed them. 

"I though we were going to the market." Fred pointed out, a tone of confusion on his voice. The girl gave him a smirk and instructed them to follow her out of the door. London's cold breeze hit their faces and soon they were surrounded by muggles who passed by them, oblivious of the teens magical nature. The twins looked around in awe, they usually wouldn't come to the muggle world. "Holy cricket." 

"I thought I would prepare a nice muggle meal." She told them. "I actually used to come to muggle London quite a lot last year. Most of the time I was home I was alone and it would get so boring. So I just started to use floo powder to escape here." The small female explained. "I actually have some muggle friends. I can introduce you to them some day." The twins smiled at the idea. They hadn't had much contact with anyone outside the wizarding world and so meeting people so different from them sounded quite exciting. The three of them walked to an ATM nearby and she placed a small card inside. The strange machine let out some muggle money through a small opening. 

"Wicked." The said in unison. Cassi laughed and led them to a small local supermarket just around the corner. She seemed to blend in quite well with the muggles, as she walked around the place picking out what she wanted to buy. Unlike her, Fred and George were quite the oddballs. They looked at the different products with wide eyes, touching them as they tried to figure out what they were. 

"Hey Cassi, what is this?" George picked up a small plastic package. Her mouth fell agape and her cheeks burned bright red. "Why does it say Control?" She snatched the package quickly as she realized people were starting to stare. He looked at her a tad bit confused. 

"It's uh-" She seemed to be unable to find the right words. Normally, she wouldn't act like that since, she wasn't exactly embarrassed to talk that type of things. However, it was George-fucking-Weasley asking her what condoms were. "It's muggle contraception." He stared into space for a few seconds and then his cheeks also turned bright red once the realization hit him. Fred just laughed it off and pulled him with him so they could roam around a bit longer. George made a mental note not to touch anything again. Once Cassi had everything she wanted she called the boys over and paid for everything. 

"Well that was quite the experience." Fred commented. "You ought to bring us to muggle London more often." Cassi smiled. They walked back to The Leaky Cauldron and floo-ed themselves back home. By then the sun was already setting so the girl decided to get down to business. "What are you making?" The older twin asked leaning over her shoulder. George mimicked his actions on her other side. 

"Francesinha." She retorted as she worked on the sauce. It wouldn't turn out like the original dish because she didn't have the best ingredients but she was confident it would turn out okay either way. 

"Bless you." George said making the girl giggle loudly. 

"It's a portuguese dish." She explained. They boys watched her cook attentively until she told them to get out of the kitchen and let her work. It took a bit to prepared everything but it was worth it. She put the dish into several individual plates, while Molly took everything to the table. They all sat down at the table and complimented Cassi on her skills. Well, all of them except Ron and Percy. 

"How do we know she is not trying to poison us?" Ron said dryly pushing his plate away. Cassi rolled her eyes in annoyance. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Arthur got up to check who it was. He came back a few minutes later with Charlie standing next to him. 

"Cassi..." The woman called her name. She had red puffy eyes, no doubt she had been crying.


	11. Donna

_The little girl looked around with teary eyes. The vivid image of her mother falling stiff onto the floor and her empty and lifeless stare still burned in the back of her head. She was sitting on the floor, hugging her knees close to her chest and hiding her face. She heard people walking back and forth and talking but everything seemed muffled and like everything was happening in slow motion. She felt a presence next to her and a light tap on her arm. The little girl looked up at the person who had just tried to get her attention. The woman had neck length blond hair and brown eyes that were red and puffy._

_"Hello, Cassiopeia." She greeted calmly. "Do you remember me?" Cassi was sure they had met before but she couldn't remember from where. "It's okay if you don't. I'm your godmother, my name is Donna Reiss." The woman handed her the doll she was holding before everything happened, which the little girl hesitantly took and held against her chest. "Can you tell me what happened?"_

_"Uncle and mummy were fighting." She replied, wiping away her tears. "There was a big light and she fell on the floor. I tried to wake her up but she kept sleeping." Tears fell from Donna's eyes and she extended her hand to Cassi helping her up._

_"Where's your mummy now, love?" The woman carefully asked but the little girl in front of her only shook her head furiously. She pulled the girl closer and held her in her arms. "It's okay, darling. You'll be safe with me."_

***

Charlie and Cassi sat outside of The Burrow in silence. Both of them had so much to say, yet they didn't dare make the first move. The younger girl played with her fingers as she tried collecting her thoughts. She wanted to give Charlie some comfort, after all she had acted like a mother to her since she was seven years old. However, she still had a lot to say in regards to Donna and everything that happened between them. 

"Cassi..." The dark skinned woman started a bit unsure. "I understand you are upset. After I heard the whole story, I was angry on your behalf. You have every right to know more about your father and I believe he is innocent. I don't think Sirius could ever be capable of doing such a thing to his closest friends. If you knew him back in the day you could tell how much he loved them. That kind of love cannot be faked." She explained, a pained smile forming on her lips. "Even though I believe he is innocent, Donna is consumed by hatred. She believes he was a supporter of you-know-who, just like your uncle Isaac. So she considers him to be partially responsible for your mother's death."

"It's not just about that, you know." The girl interrupted. "I can understand if she is worried about him being a dark wizard, it's only natural. The problem is that she lied. I think I had the right to know the truth about him." She took a deep breath. "Besides that, there's another problem. Let's pretend this thing about Sirius never happened, for second. I barely see Donna anymore. I feel like she keeps pushing me further and further away." 

"Her work is very troublesome and I know that's not an excuse but it might give you some insight on the matter." Charlie retorted. "I understand how you feel, I miss my wife too." She stared down at her lap as she spoke. "When we get home, please let's all talk this through. I love you two so much and I hate that you're fighting." 

"Okay. I'll talk to her." Charlie wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "Since you're here at least eat something." The woman nodded and they went back inside. The Weasleys greeted them both and offered Charlie a place to sit. The lot of them ate and then chatted about Cassi, much to her dismay. 

"Ooh I have a good story." The woman said giggling. "Cassi was quite the troublemaker when she was little. To this day I still don't know how she knew about such spells but, one time Barty Crouch stopped by our place to talk to Donna. He wasn't very good with children, let me tell you." Most of the people at the table laughed. "She manage to give him a lizard tail and she said it was too match his ugly lizard face." They burst out laughing and Cassi face-palmed. 

"I guess that explains why you hang out with us so often." George teased and she hit his arm playfully. "We have a few stories about her as well." He told Charlie. 

"George Fabian Weasley, are you trying to get exposed? Right here in front of your family?" The two engaged in some witty banter until Molly stopped them by giving each a slice of chocolate cake. After they ate it was already getting quite late and soon they would have to go back to their flat. 

"It's a shame you can't stay." George told her. Fred stood by his side quietly. For once, it was George who was leading the conversation. Her heart jumped a bit, wondering if he would ever miss her as much as she was going to miss him. "Feel free to visit us whenever you want, love." He gave her a quick hug. Fred also hugged her goodbye. 

"We have some plans to the end of the summer. We'll write you with the details." Fred gave her a wink.

The girl grabbed Charlie's arm and they apparated in Donna's flat. The woman was sitting on the couch with a wine glass on her hand. Her head shot up when she heard them arriving. At first she said nothing, as the two women settled in. The blond woman seemed to be in deep thought while she also tried to figure out that to say next. Cassi stood in front of her with her arms crossed over her chest. 

"I quit my job." Donna finally said. Cassi's eyes widened at her words. "Well I didn't quit, I just asked to be transferred to another department. Lately, I have been hating it but it seemed like I could never escape it." She settled the glass down and walked toward her goddaughter. "I'm so sorry, Cassiopeia. I should have been more present as your guardian. I hope that from now on we can work through our issues on a more healthy way." 

"Yeah... me too." The girl said in a low voice. "Where will you work now, though?" She asked. 

"Well I'm gonna be on the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office along with Arthur Weasley. I'm a muggleborn so it's quite fitting." The woman chuckled. "I feel like I will be much happier there." The two hugged briefly, feeling that their relationship had improved at least a little bit. "As for the other stuff we talked about, I'm ready to tell you everything you would like to know." Charlie sat down on the grey loveseat Donna had previously been sitting on. Cassi and her godmother took a seat on the sofa. The blond woman took her hand gently. "Goodness, where do I start." 

***

_"Hey Donna! Wait for me!" A young woman with brown hair and matching brown eyes ran towards her friend. The brunette had red and golden on her robes and a smirk on her lips to match. A typical Gryffindor, in Donna's opinion. "Where are you heading to?" Donna blushed deeply and her friend laughed. "A hot date with Miss Charlotte Inkwood?" She winked._

_"Oh bugger off, Yen." She held her books to her chest as they walked back to the great hall. Although Donna wasn't in Gryffindor she would come out and hang out with them quite often. Yennefer was quite popular on her house, especially among the boys. However she seemed to be looking at one in particular. "Like you don't have a thing for Sirius." Yennefer laughed and winked at her._

_"He's completely wrapped around my finger." She giggled as she saw him approach. He was tall, with black hair that reached his shoulders his eyes were gray-ish blue. Even if Donna wasn't interested in men, she had to admit he was incredibly handsome. He gave her friend a wide smile and gestured them to join the others at the table._

_"Hello, ladies." James said with a smirk. The blond took a sit next to him and Remus while Yen sat with Sirius in front of them. Donna could tell just by looking at the dark haired male's face that he was indeed completely in love with her friend. The way he talked to her and smile, was unlike anything she had ever seen. She wondered if she was like that to Charlie when they were together. James had a similar look when Lily Evans walked by._

_Everything in that moment seemed so right. Donna as a Ravenclaw perfect, her friends by her side and a beautiful girlfriend. Alas, there were many things wrong in those times. The dark forces were rising and more wizards joined them by the day. She worried for her safety, as she was in fact a muggleborn. Yen reminded her of that quite often and insisted that she should go into hiding. Donna never complied and was determined to be there for her final year at Hogwarts. However, one of her friends would not be there for her final year, much to her surprise._

_One fateful day around April 1978, Yen told her to meet her on the Astrology Tower alone. The girl seemed to be quite distressed and in a state of panic. Donna was quick to oblige and went there was soon as her classes were over. Yen was sitting on the floor hugging herself, she looked at Donna with pained eyes. The girl sat down with her and they discussed the reason for her distress._

_"Yen... are you sure?" Donna asked biting her nails nervously. The brunette nodded slowly._

_"I haven't had my period for a month and now I'm getting sick almost every morning." She explained. "I found out the day I fainted in Potions. I thought surely Madame Pomfrey had made a mistake. Merlin, I even took a muggle test." She said in frustration._

_"Have you told, Sirius?" The girl questioned. Yen nodded her head. "Do you want to tell him?"_

_"I-I don't know. I probably should but with the way things are..." She trailed off. "He wants to join the order and fight in the war. I want to help but with this... Donna I don't know what to do." The blond woman hushed her and held her in her arms. "We were careful, I don't know how this happened." She paused, trying to compose herself. "What if a war breaks out? What can I do then?"_

_"You can't fight the war while with child. Are you mad?" Donna retorted. "If things get messy I can send you off to a friend's house in Portugal until you have the child." She offered._

_"You want me to leave the country while all of you are out there risking your lives?!" She sounded quite upset at the idea._

_"It's just an idea." The blond replied. "The baby isn't even born yet but I already feel like I should help protect him or her." She sniffed feeling emotional. Yen was almost family so obviously she cared a great deal about her unborn child and about Yen._

_"Alright." The brunette said. "I'll get myself to safety." She was a bit shocked, not expecting her to agree so easily. "But I guess this means I won't be here to finish school along with everyone. I'll have to transfer." She said sadly. "And Sirius..."_

_"You ought to tell him, Yen. Not right away if you don't want to, but preferably soon."_

***

Cassi listen to her godmother's story attentively. She furrowed her brows as she heard about how Donna had come to find out her mother was pregnant. She was sure she had read in the letter she gave Sirius that Donna was the one who didn't want Sirius to know he had a child. Unfortunately, she no longer had the letter to her and no way of contacting her father for the time being. She decided to bring this up to the blond woman. 

"No, darling." She stated. "I told her to tell Sirius about you but she was the one who told me she wasn't ready for him to know." The teen touched her chin thinking deeply about the matter. "Maybe she misremembered it." 

"What happened after that?" The girl questioned. 

"Well, you mum went to Portugal, as you already know. She stayed with my friend Marco and his mother, who helped her with the childbirth. Poor bloke fainted during your birth." She chuckled. "She stayed there with you and she was planning on keeping you there for longer but when she heard you-know-who was after Lily and James she wanted to come back. Just a mere day after she got back they were dead." She swallowed hard and wiped her tears away. "She didn't even get to meet with Sirius as he was blamed for the crime. I believe she would have told him about you then. After that I think you might remeber some things." 

"Yes. I remember a lot of things." She looked down biting her lip. "I remember being with my uncle..." 

"Cassi... you don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Charlie said concerned. "We know how hard it is for you, darling." 

"No I-I..." She stopped herself for a moment to take a deep breath. "It's been hard to hold it in for so long. I never knew how to address it..." She felt hot tears forming in her eyes. "I don't think mum knew how my uncle was. She would leave me with him as she went to meet people from the order." Donna squeezed her hand on an attempt to comfort her. "Knowing what I know now it's safe to assume she was also trying to find a way to get Sirius- I mean, my father- out of Azkaban." The two woman nodded. They knew that was very likely, indeed. "The day she died is still a bit confusing to me." The girl stated looking at her two parental figures. 

"it's okay. Don't force yourself to remember." Charlie told her with a reassuring smile. Donna shifted on her seat a bit.

"I guess the only thing we haven't discussed yet is why I never told you about him." Cassi nodded at her. "At first, Yen said you weren't supposed to know until she found a way to get him out; of course, that never happened... As you grew up she always told me she was waiting for the right time but then she was murdered." She let the tears fall for a bit but quickly tried to compose herself. "I guess I thought it would break your heart if you knew what he did." 

"What he was accused of doing." Cassi corrected her. 

"Cassiopeia, I'm truly sorry for everything. Truly. I want to make things better." The blond woman assured her. 

"I'm sorry too. For yelling at you and everything." The three shared a big hug. Cassi was glad she had settled everything with her godmother. After all, family is such a precious thing.


	12. Chapter 12- Before Going Back

The summer days were hot and blissful. The radiant sun painted all of London with a new light bring the people out to the streets to celebrate it's rays of warm yellow. The leafs of the trees were dark green and the flowers rose to the occasion blooming in the most beautiful colours. Cassi could only image what it was like to be at The Burrow during those times. Her mind couldn't help but to wander to the boy she called a friend but who she wished was more than that. He was handsome from the expression of his eyes to his tender voice. The red of his hair seemed to burn through her mind like a wild fire and suddenly most of her thoughts were about him. _Most of them._

Sirius also occupied quite a big chunk of her dreams. _How was he? Was he taking care of himself? Would they see each other soon?_ He had sent letters to her, of course. Most of them were written under the pen name 'Padfoot', but she knew it was him. In her own letters, she instead of her name she drew five little dots that connected with each other. They formed the shape of the constellation that she had been named after. Most of their talks were about Cassi's childhood and how she had gotten by without him. She spared him the more foul details of the past, not yet being ready to tell him about it. He would always tell her how he wish he could know her better, face-to-face; however, he was still a wanted wizard and he would not want to put her under any danger or unwanted attention. 

Sirius told Cassi a bit about their family- The noble house of Black. He didn't speak fondly of anyone except his cousin Andromeda. He told her about Regulus and what he was like before everything that transpired before the Wizarding War. She could tell he never had the chance to grieve his brother. Actually, he didn't get the chance to grieve anyone, so she worried her could fall into a pit of sadness. The girl wished nothing more than be by his side. Through the good times and the bad, like family was supposed to. 

Speaking of family, her relationship with Donna was getting better; although there was still a bit of a way to go. Growing up, Cassi would tell you that her godmother was the funniest person she had ever met. However, currently she seemed a bit down. Donna was certainly happier in her new job but she acted weird around Cassi. The blond woman had been staring at her for a couple of minutes without saying a word. 

"Oh my Salazar, Donna." The teen said closing her book abruptly."What is it?" The woman laughed awkwardly, not expecting to be caught staring. The woman looked at her wife and then back at the girl with a tiny smirk forming on her lips. 

"Oh it's just that you seem different?" Cassi looked at her confused. "You just seem to be in deep thought quite often. Always sighing, smiling to yourself and blushing a bit." Her words hit Cassi like a truck. Was she being that obvious? She swallowed hard when the possibility of George knowing about her crush came to mind. "Who is he?" She bluntly asked. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Cassi felt her face heat up but still tried to remain unfazed by Donna's question. Charlie raised an eyebrow as well getting a bit interested in the conversation again. The girl opened her book again to see if they would stop with the questions but Donna took it away from her suddenly. "Hey! Give it back!" She demanded and the woman laughed. 

"Cassiopeia Maria Reynard! Do you have a boyfriend?" Donna asked which only caused Cassi's face to go much redder. 

"I don't have a boyfriend!" She retorted. 

"Ohhh but you like someone." She teased and Cassi huffed in frustration. "Come one, darling. Don't be angry with me. Tell me about him." She requested excitedly.

"I think I know who it is." Charlie chimed in. "It's that Weasley boy, isn't it? One of the twins." Donna gasped dramatically and the teen girl facepalmed. "He's a nice boy. I enjoyed his company when I was at their house." Her wife crossed her arms over her chest. 

"I'll have to meet him personally to see if he's good enough for you." Cassi's expression turned quite sad suddenly. The more they spoke about George the more it hit her that she could never tell him about her feelings. It was tricky, you see. She didn't have many friends before she met him. Now, not only did she have more friends, she also had a woman who treated her like a daughter. If she told him things would get very awkward and she would lose all those people she held dear. "Oh sweet pea what's wrong?" Her godmother asked her. 

"I just... I can't be with him." She stated. The two woman looked at her, curious about her reasoning. "He's like my best friend and I would lose his friendship, along with his brother's, Harry's Ginny's..." She trailed off. 

"Why do you think that way?" Charlie asked. "You think he wouldn't like you back?" The teen nodded slowly. "He would be a fool." The dark haired woman gave her a smile. 

"I say we go over there and make him like you." She gave her an evil look while she curled her fingers into a fist and pretended to punch something. Cassi laughed loudly. 

"It's whatever." She shrugged. "It's just a crush, it'll go away soon." 

"Oh that's what I said about Charlie and look at us now." Donna retorted giving her wife a soft kiss on the lips. Cassi pretended to gag and dislike she didn't like demonstrations of affection but the two women knew that she was actually a sucker for them. She even cried when the two of them got married a few two years prior. Thankfully, unlike muggles wizards were quite open to all kinds of love.

Cassi admired the relationship they had. They loved each other specially when things were tough and both of them tried to resolve conflicts in the most healthy way possible. Despite their recent issues, the two women showed maturity and stability. This greatly contrasted with Cassi's early years with her mother and uncle. Although, in all honesty she could barely remember her mother. Most of her memories were unfortunately about her uncle Isaac.

Her head filled up again with thoughts of red hair and soft brown eyes. Cassi felt her face heating up again and finally decided that she needed to stop thinking about him, so she contacted the person she knew could help- Marley Peterson. Instead of sending her an Owl she decided she should phone her. She had never used the telephone before so that was quite an adventure. Marley's mother was the one who picked up the phone and she was thrilled to meet a friend of her daughter. The woman ended up calling Marley over and the two girls talked for a while. She didn't explain all the details over the phone but she let her know she needed to have a boy talk. They decided to meet in that same day so they could chat. 

"I'll be going out. Is that okay?" The teen girl asked her guardian and her wife. They said she could but to come back before supper. She agreed and used the floo network to get to her destination. Marley had told her that they should meet Diagon Alley, as she needed to purchase new quills. She seemed to be the first one to get there so she waited outside of the quill shop for her friend. The girl arrived shortly after. "Hey Marls." The shorter girl gave her a hug and they walked inside. 

"So what's this urgent business you were telling me about?" Marley questioned curiously. 

"I uh... I like George." Cassi swallowed hard as she braced herself for her friend's reaction. The girl squealed and grabbed the brunette shaking her excitedly. Her happiness was cut short when she bumped into someone else. 

"Watch where you're going, mudblood!" The person spat. Cassi recognized him. It was hard not to recognize the signature pale white hair, cold gray eyes and pale complexion. He was impecably dressed and spoke in a menacing tone. _Draco Malfoy._

"What the fuck did you just call her?" Cassi was already pulling out her wand to hex him but the blond girl next to her stopped her from doing so. 

"Malfoy. You're here as well, what an unpleasant surprise." She said with a sarcastic smile on her lips. Draco looked her up and down and then furrowed his eyebrows at her, trying to look intimidating. Marley didn't seem fazed at all. "How are the daddy issues going for you?" He huffed in annoyance and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well-" He started. This time Cassi decided to intervene. 

"Shut up, bitch boy. Go cry to your daddy." The pale boy walked away mumbling under his breath, his ears visibly red.

"Why do the hot ones always have to be complete arses." Marley said rolling her eyes. "Hey you know what we should do? We should go on a vacation together." Cassi considered it for a moment, she didn't know if she wanted to say yes because she had just fixed her relationship with Donna. On the other hand, Marley was her bestfriend and she loved spending time with her. "It would be good for you to get away for a little while. Besides, I have something I want to try and I think you would like to participate." The blond girl winked at her. Now Cassi was interested. 

***

Marley had the idea of going on a vacation about a month right before school started; this way Cassi still had plenty of time to spend with her family. They would be travelling to the Highlands where Marley's grandparents used to live, she said she felt a deep connection with that place and assured her friend she would feel it too. Cassi was quite excited to go, although she still wasn't sure about Marley's mysterious plan for the vacations. She mentioned she wanted to try a new spell but she didn't exactly knew which one. 

The vacation with her friend was a great opportunity to use some time to collect her thoughts and tidy up her feelings. She was still a bit sad she couldn't see her father, in fact she had no idea where he was hiding but she speculated that it was something exotic. How wonderful it would be to had a lengthy conversation with him about a multitude of topics. It occurred to her that she didn't know much about his personality

For the time being, exchanging letters would have to suffice her need for connection with her father. The letters they exchanged changed in nature. They started to open up about the more serious stuff they had gone through. Cassi didn't know why but she felt at such ease talking about her trauma with him. Even if they hardly knew each other. Of course, Sirius was livid once he found out how her childhood played out. He had been so close to her uncle in Azkaban. The girl also ended up talking to him about her vacations with Marley.

The two girls mostly roamed around the most popular sights for wizards. The land seemed to emanate magic, each flower whispered a different spell and every rock seemed sacred. When the two girls weren't walking around, they would work on Marley's plan. Overall, Cassi was having a blast with her best friend. A week before the two got back home, they got a letter from George Weasley. He and Cassi had been sending letters back and forth to each other fairly regularly; and each time she got a letter from him her heart skipped a beat. She tore open the envelop her owl had brought her and scanned the paper. 

**Dear Cass,**

**I hope this letter finds you well. Seems odd that you're keeping your vacations so secretive but don't worry I will figure it out in no time. As usual me and Fred decided to wreak havoc at The Burrow and we both wish you were here to see it. We miss you terribly. Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to get together for the Quidditch World Cup by the end of summer. My father is going to speak to your godmother so they can arrange the tickets. I hope to see you there.**

**Love,**

**George**

She folded the letter and placed on the table of the living room. She grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and got to writing. Marley had joined her looking over her should as she wrote. The blond girl smirked slightly when she saw who her friend was writing to. They had discussed Cassi's feelings during their vacations. Marley was convinced he felt something for her, but because boys are stupid he was confused about what it was. Cassi just thought she was reading to much into things. 

**Dear George,**

**You most certainly won't figure out what I'm up to. This is strictly Slytherin business. I hope to hear all about your pranks when we see each other again. I would love to go to the Quidditch World Cup with everyone. I'll talk to Donna when I get back. I hope everyone is doing okay back at The Burrow. I miss everyone so much. I hope we can all hang out soon.**

**Love,**

**Cass**

"Yeah you miss everyone but you miss him more." Marley teased her giggling. Cassi hit her shoulder playfully as she felt her cheeks growing increasingly hotter. However, Cassi knew she was right. She missed George more than anyone else. She thought that the distance between them over the summer vacations would help her get over the crush she had on him. But it seemed that her need to see him had only grown and her feeling had only gotten stronger. She sighed deeply, as she knew her feelings were unrequited. Still, she didn't want to lose his friendship in any way. 

"He would never like me back." Cassi stated finally. Marley looked at her furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. 

"What the bloody hell are you saying?" The blond questioned. "He gave you a ring for christmas and he's always staring at you longingly." 

"He stares at his food longingly too." Cassi retorted. Marley rolled her eyes again unable to believe that the ginger boy wasn't also head over heels for her. "The ring was just a friendly gesture." She looked at her hand noticing that it had turned completely pink. 

"What about that kiss in the Shrieking Shack?" She questioned with a smirk dancing on her lips. Cassi felt her heart skip a bit when she mentioned it. She could still remember the gentleness of his touch and the soft texture of his lips. Her enamored daze didn't last long, however; as she remembered one important detail about that kiss. 

"He never mentioned the kiss again." Cassi responded, now feeling her mood change for the worst. He seemed to not even remember that it had happened or he was pretending not to remember. Had it been that bad for him? "And I don't think he will mention it ever again." Marley's smirk seemed to vanish and she decided to take a seat next to her friend, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. 

"George is a git. You're absolutely wonderful." Cassi couldn't help but to smile weakly. She knew she could always count on Marley to cheer her up. "Well if he is going to be dumb enough to not take this chance with you then maybe you should give somebody else a chance..."

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also available on Wattpad. If you want you can show your support over there as well. https://www.wattpad.com/story/255146212-serendipity-george-weasley
> 
> Lots of love,  
> -ayu


End file.
